Oh, The Adventures They Had
by CarouselToxic
Summary: A girl in a new city visits a park and her world changes forever when she hears the sound of some very strange engines. character is OC. I own nothing except my OC character. Now Finished.
1. The Doctor

If I didn't do it now, I would never get the courage to do it again. I was going outside. For the last month, I had lived inside my apartment. I had just moved to London for some crazy reason; because I felt like it. It might have been a drunken decision or a decision I made after a break up or even a lifelong dream. It didn't matter. I had moved from America to England on a whim and I was living, petrified in my flat. Sure, I made it to the corner store when I needed to get groceries, but other than that I hadn't been anywhere.

I grabbed my keys and my notebook along with my purse. I was going to visit Hyde Park. Luckily for me, Hyde Park wasn't too far a walk away from my flat. I had all the time in the world. It was my day off from work. Well, my work had just cut my hours and I was interviewing tomorrow and going to set myself up at a temp agency. It was the best I could do. You can only work from home for so long.

I was outside walking the blocks that would take me to the park. It was a nice day in the summer. The wind was only a bit chilly, but I wore my favorite blazer and I felt the comforting swish of my favorite skirt as I walked. It helped me carry my feet further.

I stood before one of the entrance trails of the park. I grasped my owl necklace tight. It shouldn't have been so incredibly intimidating, but it was. Everything had always been much too intimidating for me. But I kept walking.

An empty bench welcomed me, not too far from the Peter Pan statue. I could see it from a distance. As soon as I was seated, my notebook was out and I was writing. I had graduated from a local college in California with a degree in English-Creative Writing. Of course, my degree had taken me nowhere. What did I expect? I just became a sort of secretary anywhere I could. I helped people with running their online businesses. I did odd jobs here and there. I paid my bills and avoided debt.

But I wrote and wrote until my hands cramped and my fingers went all tingly. I wrote all my stories in a notebook first. Or I at least outlined them in a notebook. No one had accepted my stories or my novel to publish. I didn't expect them to, but there was still hope. I grabbed my unicorn braid as I sat, trying to think. My pen slapped repeatedly on the pages as I bit my lip; my process. I couldn't think.

So I got up to walk around. I made it all the way around a willow tree when I heard it. It was a strange sort of engine sound. I paid no attention to it, but instead kept walking.

The park seemed strangely vacant seeing as it was a nice day weather-wise. It reminded me of one story I had written a while ago. I found a path and started to walk along it, some gravel crunching beneath my feet.

In the distance, I saw a figure running towards my direction. I saw a green glowing light with a high pitched sound and then the person, a man, smacked right into me.

"Hey, watch where you're going. There's no one here. Are you alright?" I was lucky not to be the one that got thrown on their butt. I lent him my hand so he could stand. Taking in his appearance, I noticed one thing. "Bowtie- cool. I don't usually see people wearing bowties." The man hadn't spoken until then, but perked up at my comment.

"Yes, now, who are you and why are you in the park?" He was looking around, almost manic, but he was looking for something. Then he started looking around at my person. "That!"

The man grabbed my notebook to start looking through it.

"Excuse me; I don't even know who you are. What are you doing? Those are my personal stories. You have no right-"

"Ah-ha!" The man cut me off, pointing at one of my stories. "Here we are." He looked up at me and then back down at the book. "You're her. You're Reaux Fallion."

"Uh, that is not my name. That's my character." I grabbed back my notebook and looked at the story he was talking about. "This is my story 'The Lonely Gate', what does it have to do with anything?"

"Everything, I'm the Doctor," He took a glance around. "Now, run." He grabbed my hand and we were running through the grass past trees of all species. It was a part of the park I had never seen; never heard of. It was an unmapped area of the park, but that was impossible. Anyone with the internet could see the layout of the park. I had practically memorized it.

"Doctor, what's going on? Why are we running?" He didn't respond, just kept hold of my hand, dragging me along. Eventually we arrived at some blue phone box. He snapped and the doors opened.

"Come inside then."

"Doctor, what's going on? Why did you think my name was Reaux Fallion? Let go of my hand!" I ripped my arm from his grasp and finally took in my surroundings. "No, this is impossible." The room was a huge expanse, but I swore we had only stepped into a small blue police box. I tried to go out the doors, but they were locked.

"You won't want to go out there." He was messing with the controls I guessed. I didn't know what to call it. But it seemed to take effect, what he was doing seemed to jar and move the box.

"What do you mean I don't want to go outside? I'd very much like to get out of here." I tried to grab the door handles again and give them a shake, but the doors wouldn't budge. I decided that I wasn't going to have any luck with getting out, so I might as well enjoy the ride. I walked up to where the controls were and sat on a chair to watch the Doctor do his thing.

"Well, right now, we're flying around trying to find somewhere safe. You seem to be the topic of conversation."

"Me? Well, I'm nothing special, I just moved to London from California and I haven't really set foot out of my apartment for a month. Great day, today, I get abducted by some guy with a police box that's bigger on the inside." I sat there, examining my newly painted nails. The Doctor's movements stopped.

"Wait, who said you weren't important?" The jangling of the box had stopped and he just stood in front of me, staring.

"No one said. I just assumed. There are around 6 billion people on the planet. For every university there have to be hundreds if not thousands of people who graduate being Creative Writers, most of which are for narrative writing. I live in the city, where no one knows my name, I don't have any friends. I have a part time job and I'm going to be a temp. I'm not special."

The Doctor crossed his arms as he stood and leaned against the control panel.

"No one said you weren't special. You just assumed," He walked closer to me. "I knew a girl once, she was a temp. Best temp in Chiswick, I heard. And she was the most important woman in the universe." He grasped my hands from my lap and looked into my eyes. "No one, not one person in the world, is insignificant. Everyone has something."

"Well, you've got your special box that's bigger on the inside."

"And two hearts." He pulled me up to stand and swung our hands. I smiled.

"Two hearts, I once had two hearts. It was some complication of birth. Don't worry, they removed one. I was supposed to be part of a Siamese twin. I assume you still have both of yours."

He smiled at me. "Oh, you are more special than a birth defect Rachel." He spun me around.

"Of course, I can also say Irish wristwatch without a hitch. I'm telling you, though. That's all I have that's special."

"No, you are much more special." His face became pensive. After a few moments I swear I almost saw the light bulb go off in his head. "Of course!" He ran back to the dashboard, pressing buttons and pulling levers.

With a jolt, the whole thing seemed to stop moving. I stood still, trying to figure out what was going through the Doctor's head.

"Well then, Doctor, what now?" He paused in his run towards the door.

"Oh, yes, uh you should stay here and play around in the pool or go explore the rooms. But avoid the third door to the right in the sixth hallway. However I cannot stress how much you need to stay here."

"You kidnap me to make me stay put when you're gonna go out there and possible do something dangerous? I'm having an adventure here, like hell if I'm going to wait around."I threw off my purse, but kept my notebook as I ran up to the Doctor. "Shall we, then?"

"I can't necessarily guarantee your safety in all of this. The people who are doing this won't take meeting you lightly." He turned to me, but he could see I wasn't going to budge from my stance. "Oh, you writers and your convictions; you're gonna be the death of me." He made some motion with his hands and we both walked out the doors.

We were in some sort of dense forest. There were trees everywhere. Brown trunks reached to the heavens of green. Almost no light could break through the canopy. Purple, blue, and white flowers sprinkled the forest floors. I found a carving on one of the trees. 'RF + DL' the letters were circled in a heart. I felt the letters. They had been carved for years in the trunk of the tree. There was the faint spark of a memory from my story.

"No, no, no this cannot be possible. This has to be some sort of joke. But this is exactly how I imagined it." I ran my hands along the trees immediately around the police box.

"Rachel? Rachel, what is it?" The Doctor was also checking out surroundings. I wasn't paying attention to him anymore. I was flipping through the pages of my notebook. I had to find the story.

"Doctor, how old would you say this carving is?" I kept flipping through the book until I got to the page. The Doctor didn't answer. "The carving forever held-" I stopped because the Doctor had started to talk.

"-held the only seed of their affection as their bodies decayed and rotted under the Earth. The skies grew black and the stars burnt cold, but still the dust of the universe sang the song of their love." I looked behind my shoulder for the Doctor to be reading over it.

"How do you know that? I've never been published and I've shown no one my work since I left California. I wrote it the day I got to England. I started it on the plane." I closed the book, keeping my finger to bookmark the page. I walked around to try to find the Doctor. "How do you know about this story? How do you know about me? Doctor, you have to tell me!" I found him behind his blue box trying to look through the trees with his green blinking light.

"Why have I not found a setting for wood?" I grabbed his shoulders to turn him around.

"Doctor, whoever you are, I need answers because this is getting to be way too weird and complicated and confusing and I just want to know why you memorized my story and why that tree has their initials carved in its trunk." I was verging on hysterical as I continued on.

"We are in a forest of your imagination created by some very devoted fans of yours. These fans kidnap people and subject them to your story. They make them live it out like a real-life movie. This is the forest from your book. They have created some sort of parallel reality where your stories are king." The Doctor stood before me. I couldn't understand what he was saying.

"A parallel universe? Why? All my characters die." There was no way I could comprehend what he was saying.

"No time to say now, we have to go somewhere." I looked around. There was nowhere really to go.

"Go where?" Both of us were looking around, but he seemed to know what he was looking for. "The trees are so dense here, there is nowhere to go."

"Excuse me!" The Doctor decided it best to shout to the sky. "Would you like to meet the author?" That was when I noticed the trees started to glow. It was like they were emanating light. Then the tingly feeling started to happen.

"Doctor? What's happening? Why do I feel all prickly?" The Doctor reached for my hand. I took it, knowing that I didn't want to do this alone.

"Just stay calm, Rachel. We'll figure this all out soon." The tingling got stronger and suddenly we were in a completely different place.

"We were just transported, weren't we?" I looked to the Doctor who nodded. "And they are?" I was motioning to the creatures before us.

"Well, I haven't seen these guys in a while. Not since," The Doctor trailed off. But I pictured that something bad had happened along with the memory he was thinking of. "Either way, it's time for us to go."

Now, to tell you the truth, the next moments happened in a bit of a blur and I can't exactly describe what happened. But the Doctor spoke, asked for jammie dodgers, shouted 'Geronimo!' and then things started to spark and explode. Then we were running down and down stairs. We were in some sort of tower and then we were back in the forest. We got back to the blue police box before I could even grasp at reality.

"I think I've gone insane." The Doctor felt my head and spun me around.

"Nope, you're all here and not a scratch on you. This is fantastic." Once again he was dancing around the control panel in order to get us flying again. Or at least, I thought we were flying. "You're not insane, by the way. You're just special."

"That really puts me at ease. I'm probably just asleep in my flat dreaming right now. That's it. I'm just dreaming and haven't been to the park at all."

"You can always stick to your beliefs, but let me just tell you this. I am a traveler through space and time in this TARDIS and I've never met an insignificant human. You know, you should remember that, Reaux Fallion." He smiled. "I should take you home now." Something inside my heart broke a little. Not in the gushy romantic way, but in the way that stings of rejection and burns with understanding.

"Yeah, I would never make for very good company. You got friends that travel around with you?" His eyes sort of went to this distant place. He was thinking about someone.

"I've got tons of friends all around." He nodded and turned, not meeting my eyes. "They have someone else. But I'm fine alone."

"Alright," I sat back down. "Well, drop me home then." The same engine sound broke through the air. "So that's what I heard before."

The Doctor turned and smiled at me. "So you did." He made a few more movements. The noise stopped and I assumed all movement did as well.

"Well then," I walked towards the door. "I'll be going." I had my notebook and purse. I opened the door. I was right back in the park. Right where I had sat on a bench writing what seemed like hours or days before. I stuck my head back into the blue box, what the Doctor called the TARDIS. "You know, Doctor, if you ever get lonely and need someone. I'm not doing anything significant." He looked up from his controls.

"Imagine that, I've met Charles Dickens surrounded by ghosts at Christmas, solved a murder with Agatha Christie and fought witches with Shakespeare. I almost got killed in a library once. But imagine traveling with The Rachel Foster."

"Rachel Foster? That is not my last name." I smiled taking a tentative step into the TARDIS again. "Did you just say The Rachel Foster referring to me? And was that impressive next to Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, and Charles Dickens?"

"Oh, well I've said too much." The Doctor paused and checked the screen.

"Well, that seems to be a mistake," I smiled and opened the door again. "I should get going, again. Remember my offer."

I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. I sat down on the bench I had when I first got to the park. The engine noise sounded again and I knew the Doctor was gone. I opened my notebook and began to write.

_Once upon a time, there was a man. He was known by many names, but most knew him as the Doctor. He ran. He ran far and fast. He ran even when nothing was chasing him. He ran to things and from things._

_And once upon a time, there was a girl. She wasn't significant or special, but this Doctor thought she was. She didn't have anywhere to go. When the Doctor found her, she ran. Oh, how fast she ran. She followed the Doctor to nowhere in particular because he asked her to go. _

_And oh, the adventures they had._

I didn't-couldn't- write anymore. I closed my notebook and sat, staring at the world around me. The sky was no brighter. The grass was not softer or greener. Everything was the same. It was the same air and the same earth. I was just as ordinary as I had remembered. And I was once again the insignificant speck in a census.

Then I heard the engines.

It couldn't have been. There was no way. Was the Doctor coming back? I stayed put. And the TARDIS materialized before me. No sooner had the blue box fully appeared, than the Doctor stuck his head out the door.

"Rachel?"

"Well then Doctor, you get lonely?" I smiled and clutched my notebook close to my chest. Then I noticed something. "You look older."

"You look the same." He looked me once over. "You're wearing the same clothes. When did I leave you?"

I smiled. "You left me about a half hour ago." The look on his face was one of confusion.

"I'm getting better at this. Didn't know if I could find you again, so I figured I could come back to where I left you." The Doctor looked so proud of himself.

"You're an alien from the future and you don't have the technology to track me throughout time or something?" I smiled and he looked down. "You didn't think of it, did you," I teased.

"Perhaps not, but that is not the question. The question is: are you coming or not?" He gave off this smile like he already knew my answer.

"You already know." He held out his hand and I had no choice but to take it. I smiled as I entered the TARDIS once again. And I wouldn't be leaving it for a very long while.


	2. Donna

The Doctor had this dance he did when flying the TARDIS. From the first adventure we had to the time after that and the time after that, he danced around the console. He rarely spoke about anything. It was always gibberish or technical terms or shouts of excitement. He never said anything about himself.

"How have you been Doctor?" The Doctor was dancing again and I was determined to learn about the mysterious man I was traveling with. After a few adventures filled with much running, I figured he owed me some explanation as to who he was.

"I am as I always am. I'm top notch, perfectly fine-"

"Lonely enough to come back and get me." I stood in front of him to stop his dance. "Doctor, so far we've faced my super fans, found aliens in Nebraska in 1975, and found rogue Daleks in another galaxy. I know that you care about me and that door leads both ways. In your eyes I see so much pain-" The Doctor side-stepped me and continued his dance. I took that as a signal to stop talking. My questions weren't answered, but I knew that I wasn't going to get any responses in the next minutes.

As the TARDIS jarred and flew around, the Doctor took the monitor and looked at the screen for a long while. His knuckles turned white and his face creased with worry.

"Doctor, is something wrong?" I stepped closer to him. He stepped away, but I saw him wipe away the beginnings of tears. I decided silence was best and sat down as he continued to waltz around.

"I need to make a stop." I smiled and nodded.

"What will we be doing at this stop?" My hands were playing with the rings I wore on my fingers.

"No, no. Just me. We're going to Chiswick." I stopped playing with my rings. "You can look around at the shops, but I will be doing this alone."

"Doctor, if you need someone to talk to-"

"I know. I don't need you now." The Doctor's words stung a little. He didn't mean anything by it. I just never liked to feel useless and I hated to feel like someone was upset with me. The Doctor needed time, then. I was fine giving him all the time he needed.

"Right, well, I think I'm going to change clothes." The Doctor probably didn't even notice as I left the room and made my way to the wardrobe where I had some of my clothes. The Doctor was nice enough to take me to my apartment for some clothes the day he picked me up for good.

I changed into my oldest pair of jeans. There were rips and tears, but they were like a comfort blanket. I rolled up the sleeves of my plaid shirt and hung my clock necklace around my neck.

I needed all the comfort I could get. The articles of clothing were the best for me right now. Going into the past and into the future and to distant planets and through space was all well and good, but my own time always made me uncomfortable.

Before we landed I found my way to my room. Sitting right on my bed was a newer notebook filled with stories of adventures with the Doctor. The older, trusty notebook sat next to my bed on a nightstand. I could type up every story written in the new book and no one would believe it. But it was all true.

From inside my room sitting on my bed, I heard the engines sound. I grabbed my phone and some cash. With the new notebook clutched tightly in one hand, I ventured out.

Chiswick looked like any other town. The streets were normal. There were no aliens and no threats or dangers. It was just a normal, lazy day. The sun was shining and there were a few clouds in the sky. It was so odd to me when I had seen far reaches of space. But I saw a coffee shop I would most likely inhabit as I waited for him. The Doctor was waiting for me by the door. He had a key hanging from his fingers and far-off look on his face. He thrust the key in my face and I hesitantly took it.

"A TARDIS key, just in case you get bored." I placed the chain around my neck so it sat next to the clock. "But don't touch the controls." I nodded as the Doctor turned to walk away.

"Doctor," I called after him. The Doctor barely turned his head as he acknowledged me. "When will you be back? I'll just be over there." I pointed at the coffee shop. The Doctor still didn't seem to notice. I felt the gravity of the situation in my gut.

"I don't know when I'll be back." I nodded.

"Just, please, don't leave me. As much as you need me, I need you." The Doctor didn't say anything in response, but he pulled me close and we stood embracing for a few moments. I felt a small, little, tiny drop on my shoulder and I knew it was a tear. "Everything will be alright."

"Rachel Foster, of course it will be." The Doctor pulled away with a small sad smile on his face. I didn't have the heart to correct him yet again that my last name was Clover, not Foster. There, right behind his eyes I saw the tears welling and the immense sadness hidden behind the boyish, smiling front.

He walked away, down the street. I walked the opposite direction towards the coffee shop. As soon as I was by the door, I turned back to see the Doctor walking out of a florist's shop with a bunch of lilies wrapped in black paper. There was no woman he would see, save River Song, but she wasn't here. Yes, I knew of River Song, Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, and Amy and Rory Pond-Williams. He had told me of his many friends throughout his times. I didn't know all of them or all of his adventures, but he told me stories and referenced them quite often.

The Doctor was going to a cemetery with a bunch of lilies to place on a grave. I didn't know who he got the flowers for or to whose grave he was going, but I knew they were a close friend. The Doctor must have cared for them dearly.

That was when I felt it. A sharp shooting pain centered on my nose area and forehead. The force knocked me back a bit. It took me a moment for me to realize I was standing on the wrong side of the door and someone had opened up the door, smacking my face. My hand immediately went to my nose. Pulling away from my face, I saw no blood.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You should watch where you stand." The woman who smacked my face with the door led me inside the shop. "Oi! I need an ice pack over here." I was surprised how loudly she shouted, but she sat me at a table. "Sorry, dear, I didn't see you standing there. You should really move out of the way or not stop so close to a door. My mate Stacy once got hit with a door. She had to get a nose job; of course I just thought that she wanted an excuse for a nose job. She did have one hell of a beak…" From that moment I tuned her out a bit. She seemed very nice, I didn't know her name, or what kind of person she was, but she didn't seem like a serial killer.

She set her bag on the chair across from me and grabbed out her wallet. She looked at me expectantly. I figured she asked me a question.

"Sorry, what? Did you ask something? I think I zoned out a little bit." A flash of concern washed over her face.

"I hope you don't have a concussion. But I asked if you wanted some coffee or tea. I'll pay; my treat." She waited for my answer.

"No, no. I can pay for myself. I hardly know you. Nothing's broken; you don't have to feel obligated to buy me a cup of coffee." I took my cash out of my pocket. "Really, I can pay for myself." She would have none of it.

"Look, I'm paying. Is there anything you want?" I smiled up at her, my hair cascading over my shoulder.

"A cup of coffee, if that's alright." She rolled her eyes, but walked away with a smile. My hair was getting in my face. My notebook found its way to the table as I gathered my hair and found a stray elastic tie in my pocket. I did a simple braid and waited for the woman to come back.

"Here you are." The steaming cup was placed right in front of me, thankfully avoiding my notebook. "I got some cream for my tea, if you want some for your coffee as well." I smiled at her as she sat opposite me.

"Thank you so much," I smiled picking up some packets of sugar and dumping them in. "By the way, what is your name. You never said." She passed me the tiny pitcher filled with cream and I poured it into my cup. I watched as the coffee turned a pretty light caramel color.

"Want some coffee with that cream and sugar?" She asked laughing at my drink. I laughed as well. "My name's Donna, though, Donna Noble." The smile on my face faltered. "Oh, silly me. It's been five years but I still can't get used to my new last name. My husband always patronizes me about it, but I love him so much," She got a wistful smile on her face as my thoughts scattered about. I took a sip of my coffee to keep any noises of surprise or any comments from slipping out.

"You're married then?" Donna snapped her attention back to me.

"Yeah," She smiled. "Well, what about you? What's your name?" She took a sip of her tea, but her eyes were on me expectantly.

"My name's Rachel Clover and, right now, I am traveling with a friend." I was trying to be truthful with Donna, but the Doctor told me what happened with Donna and why she had to leave. But Donna perked up at the mention of my friend.

"Oh, I see some traveling romance. Boyfriend? Girlfriend?" She was clutching her cup in her grasp. I smiled and shook my head fervently.

"Oh no, no. He's just a friend." I laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "But yeah, we travel all around. It's so fascinating to see all these new things."

"You're American?" Donna asked. I smiled and nodded. "Is this one of your stops? I mean, Chiswick is a great home, but not much for traveling and adventures. You and your mate should be somewhere like Paris; a couple more young people in some big city where real things happen." I shook my head, the smile dropping from my face.

"No, we're not really adventuring now. My friend had some business here. He won't talk to me about it, but I believe he lost someone close to him recently. I don't even know what to do about it. I feel like I should help him somehow, but he won't take my help." I liked the comforting feeling of the warmth of my cup between my hands as I looked at my notebook, wanting to write this whole thing down.

"Oh, I know what that's like, losing someone." She looked at me and I saw a hint of a tear on her cheek. "Very recently, actually. My granddad passed." Her eyes started to carry more tears, so I looked for a napkin to give her so she could dab them away. "He passed away six months ago. Other than my husband, he was one person who always supported me."

"I'm so sorry for your loss." I had never really lost someone so close to me. I could only imagine what it felt like. "It must be absolutely terrible to go through something like that." Donna nodded.

"It isn't easy, give your friend time and I'm sure he'll be fine. And when he needs you, he knows you'll be there." I smiled. She perked up a little bit. "Well, let's be done with that. There are other times to be sad than when you meet a new person at a coffee shop."

"Well, then, Donna, what do you do for a living? You know I'm traveling. What about you?" She smiled.

"Well, recently, I've been published." I smiled. She seemed so happy about it. "My granddad's last request was for me to put my writing out there. You see I've had these dreams for a while and my granddad told me to write them all down. I wrote a story, really. Best dreams I ever had." She smiled. "I dedicated the book to him, you know. Like a last thank you."

"I graduated as a Creative Writing major. But I highly doubt I'll be published ever, it's so great for you. What is your book about?"

"Just the dream I've been having. It's about a man who comes and goes and travels in time and I go around traveling with him through space." She smiled. "It's a bit daft, but it sells well enough. My husband mostly earns our bread." I didn't have anything to say. I couldn't think of anything to say. "So, you've traveled? Where have you been and how long have you been traveling?"

"Oh, we've been so many places. It feels like we've been traveling for years, but really it's more like days or months." I smiled as I thought about the adventures so far and imagined the things that might happen. "It's been the best experience of my life. I'm so lucky."

"Sounds like a great experience. I thought once I might like to travel, but then I met my husband and I knew that I was right where I needed to be." Donna smiled and looked at her watch. "Oh, look at the time, I must be going. Tonight is date night." She smiled and got up, fixing her clothes and picking up her bag.

"Have fun on your date, Donna. It was so nice to meet you." She smiled and gave me a half hug before walking to the door. She waved on her way out and I smiled, waving back slightly.

As soon as she was out of sight, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was so nice to meet her. Donna was a great person, full of compassion and when I looked in her eyes, I saw the spark of her memories with the Doctor. It was so sad, the way she left the TARDIS and life with the Doctor.

I sat at the table for maybe ten more minutes, finishing off my cup of cold coffee before getting up and walking a few shops down to a bookstore. I opened the door. The bell jingling and smell of books made me happy in a way only a bookstore could. It seemed so long since I had been in a store.

"Is there anything I can help you find?" I smiled as the worker walked up to me. "Any books you're specifically looking for? Any specific genre?" I nodded.

"Yes, I'm looking for a book by Donna Noble-" I stopped. I didn't get Donna's married last name. "Or, I don't know her married name. She wrote a book about a time traveler and his companion through time and space? Do you have that book here? It was recently published." The worker smiled and nodded.

"Right over here." The worker gestured to a stack of books. The book on top particularly stood out to me. I knew immediately it was the book I was looking for.

The cover was a bright blue with golden swirls and a black silhouette; 'Who' By Donna Noble: a fantastic tale of adventure and suspense. I flipped through the book. There were little doodles and sketches everywhere. It was a beautiful book and before I could even think, I was at the counter pulling out my money and buying the book.

"I loved this book. Enjoy your purchase and your day." The worker gave me my book and receipt and I went on my way.

I walked back to the coffee store, but I sat at one of the tables outside. Once again I was taking out my notebook. It was more of journal now, but probably more like Donna's stories than anything else.

I looked back at my stories from meeting the Doctor. I didn't have any pens to write, but I re-read everything I had written. The stories were great, but not many had an ending. I figured I could start thinking up endings for each of the stories, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Seeing Donna and knowing that everything had to end and hoping I would never have to forget the Doctor put a foul taste in my mouth. I looked at the clock around my neck. I had told the Doctor I would be at the café. I guessed he hadn't returned yet. All my hope went into the wish that he hadn't left me here alone, abandoned. I got more worried as it started to get later into the evening.

I was rewarded by the Doctor slumping down into the seat across from me. He looked so tired and unhappy.

"So," I was trying to be as nonchalant as possible. "How was everything? Did you get your personal errand done?" The Doctor stayed silent for a bit. I wasn't even sure he would answer me.

"Yes, I got my errand done. Though I got a bit distracted on the way aliens and such, you know," He stood up and held his hand out to me. "Shall we?" I nodded and took his hand. We walked back to the TARDIS in silence. When we got to the door, the Doctor turned to me. "You have one more book than normal."

"Yeah, and I met someone interesting today." I smiled hesitantly. I wasn't sure how the Doctor would react to me meeting Donna. "She opened a door and smacked my face with it. It was nice to just sit and chat with someone." The Doctor nodded as he ran up to his control panel.

"Well, who was this kind stranger?" I bit my lip, picking at the holes in my jeans.

"Doctor," I paused. I didn't know if I wanted to continue. "I met Donna today." The Doctor froze. He didn't move a muscle.

"If you so much as mentioned me, Rachel," The Doctor's words stung and I swear his voice cracked.

"I just said I was traveling with a friend. Nothing else." I walked up behind the Doctor and put my hand on his shoulder. "You should see this, though." I had put down my notebook, but I handed the Doctor Donna's book. The Doctor traced the outline of the book, and then grabbed it from my grasp. "She says the book is based on the best dreams she has ever had."

The Doctor didn't say anything, but flipped to the back cover and through the rest of the book. I watched him. He needed to know about the book and I hoped it would make him happy.

"She wrote a book about me. And her head didn't explode. She dreams about our adventures." The Doctor looked so genuinely happy. Then a thought occurred to him. "This book has been destroyed in the future. This may be the only surviving copy." I just stood in front of the Doctor. "Rachel," The Doctor grabbed my face and kissed my forehead. "This is the best gift ever." I smiled.

"Doctor, can I ask whose grave you visited?" The Doctor froze once again.

"A very dear friend of mine." I knew exactly who the Doctor meant.

"You visited Donna's grandfather." The Doctor nodded, his eyes welling with tears.

"I hate this; feeling so human. I should be exploring time and space, and here I am, crying over an old man who was bound to die sooner or later." I grabbed the Doctor's shoulders and pulled him into an embrace.

"It's okay. Donna misses him too. Look at the book's dedication." The Doctor opened the book behind my back and saw what I wanted him to see. "Doctor, I know it's hard, but everything happens for a reason and we can visit him in the past if you want." The Doctor pulled away shaking his head.

"No, no, we should move on for now." I nodded and sat down, taking out my notebook. The quasi-fairytale I started the first day I met the Doctor was rewritten in this notebook and I started to add on to it.

_The man never stayed in one place too long. The girl had the best adventures with the alien man, but then something happened. The girl saw what he tried to hide. He was more human than he let on. They kept running, but chips and cracks appeared on the façade he used to disguise his weakness. _

_She didn't want to break him, but the girl carefully chipped away at the exterior to find the man within. The man might have been alien, but even aliens have emotions. Still the Doctor tried to outrun everything. And the girl was happy to run along with him, knowing that she would have some sort of ending soon. _

_Because everything comes to an end._

I closed my notebook again. And I watched the Doctor. He wrapped the book in a cloth and carefully placed it in a storage box. I watched his every move. I saw the gears turning in his mind and the compartmentalizing of his feelings. And then the boyish, happy Time Lord was back. We were leaving Chiswick behind, probably for the last time. And the Doctor started to dance, once again.


	3. Drawling

What did I love most in the world? What did I value most? To tell the truth, I wasn't very sure at all. I knew there were sacred things and things that meant the world to others, but I wasn't sure what it was for me. I knew I loved my life and the adventures I was having. But when that all ended, what was left for me?

"Oh, come on now, don't be so blegh-" The Doctor turned to me as I zoned out. I was supposed to be watching him fix the TARDIS, but really I wasn't. I was grabbing and snapping at the tights I was wearing and playing with the hem of my sunflower dress. "You said you wanted to watch me be clever. I'm being clever, so pay attention, or go away."

I got up and walked away. Sometimes I forgot how childish the thousand year old Time Lord could act. I threw off my blazer and it landed on the chair I so often sat at. I picked up my notebook that was sitting there and I grabbed my pen.

There had been countless times I had done this. Sitting near the console, just waiting for inspiration to strike, staring at the page before me, I just slapped my pen against the pages. There was nothing I could think of. I had all my stories from my imagination. Then there were all my adventures. Everything written down, some stories ended, some stories just left alone. It was the worst writer's block I had ever experienced. There were no plot bunnies and no inspiration and no words flowing from my brain to my pen.

"Rachel," The Doctor stormed up to me. "I'm supposed to be praised as I'm being clever." I formed a small smile and directed it towards him. The Doctor was in some sort of mood. After adventures and adventures with him, I knew so much about the Doctor's behavior. Right now, it was just best if I appease him, to make his mood better.

That was how I measured my time with the Doctor. In the amount of adventures we had. As of now we had been on about a dozen adventures together. I could list them all and all of them had been creatively worded in my notebook along with random installments of the quasi-fairytale I had started.

"So, Doctor, what are we to do today?" My small grin evolved into a regular smile as the Doctor walked in front of me and leaned on the controls.

"I don't know." No sooner had the Doctor said so, than the TARDIS jolted so violently that I fell off the chair to the floor. That never happened, no matter how jolty the TARDIS got. I assumed that something was wrong. The Doctor assumed so too, because he got right up and started grabbing and pulling and prodding things. "Rachel, are you alright?"

I could hardly respond; there was a bang on my head making it hard to speak. Feeling my head, there was no real bump, just a very painful spot. Finally, I found my voice.

"Doctor, what's going on here?" He wouldn't turn around and answer me. "Doctor?"

"I don't know!" The Doctor was just as freaked out as I was. "I think she's trying to take us somewhere." He placed his head close to the controls and stood there for a bit, as if listening. Of course I knew that the Doctor was trying to work something out. The Doctor was always trying to work something out.

Eventually, the TARDIS landed. The Doctor was still leaned over the controls. I stood up slowly, trying not to get a head rush. I walked towards the door. I wanted to see where we were, when we were. My hand reached up to clasp the door knob.

"Don't go out there," The Doctor was standing straight looking at the door. "I don't know where we are and I need to scan. So I repeat, do not go out there." I turned away from the door.

"I heard you the first time." I walked up behind him and took a look at the monitor. The Doctor turned around quickly.

"Did you just listen to me? No one listens to me, ever." The Doctor looked completely surprised, like it had never happened to him before.

"I listen because I don't want to die. Would you prefer me to not listen?" There was nothing on the monitor screen, so I walked back towards the door. Of course I was taunting and teasing him, but I really did want to go outside and perhaps look to see where we were. The Doctor didn't respond; he was looking at the screen.

"We're in your time. Around the time I picked you up. The time that you were living before me." The Doctor continued to stand there. He wasn't moving or anything, just staring at the screen.

"Oh, just a trip home then." I smiled and opened the door. But we weren't anywhere near where I lived. We were at a graveyard. There were tombstones everywhere and statues. There were four that stood out the most; four angels standing as pillars for a mausoleum. I started to walk towards them, but a hand yanked me back.

"I told you not to come out here. I thought you were listening to me." The Doctor yanked me back into the TARDIS. "There are dangerous things out there. Very dangerous. Don't go out there again without me and when you do, don't blink."

I had no idea what the Doctor was talking about. I ripped my arm from his hand. What was supposed to be the point staying in the TARDIS? If there was something dangerous, then the Doctor should go out there and fix it. That was what he always did. Seemingly reading my mind, the Doctor turned to me.

"There is no way I can defeat what's out there. The TARDIS wants me to, but I don't think I can. Not again." The Doctor actually looked a tiny bit frightened by the prospect. "But I have to, don't I?"

"What? Are there more Daleks?" I was terrified of Daleks, the way they completely had no emotion and just killed everyone. They nearly killed me last time I saw them. The Doctor walked up to me and embraced me.

"No, there are no Daleks here." He put at arm's length away and stared into my eyes. "Out there, there is something much worse than Daleks, but I know that you are brave enough to handle it." The Doctor clasped my face in his hands. "Out there are Weeping Angels. I've seen these four before. I thought I had finished them off. They should have been taken care of, but someone must have moved them." I nodded and the Doctor continued. "These Angels are scavengers. They just need one touch and you get thrown back in time. They kill you by letting you live. They consume the energy of the days that could have been. They stick you in some other place in some other time."

"So it really isn't that bad with the whole TARDIS." I placed my hand on the nearest thing. However, the Doctor didn't look comforted with what I had said. "Isn't it?"

"Last time I saw them, they got the TARDIS and sent me to 1969 or some time period around there. I expect they will want to do that again this time." I nodded, barely following along to what the Doctor was saying. "I don't know if I can stop them this time. And if you go back in time, I don't know if I can find you. When you see them, just stare and don't blink. They can't move if you stare at them."

"What do you mean?" I was completely ignoring his last statement, focusing on his claim that he couldn't find me. Of course the Doctor could find me, he had the technology. He could do whatever he wanted. He was the Doctor and I believed in him. The Doctor walked away and over to caress the controls.

"I know I'm supposed to have the technology, but my timey-wimey detector broke. And I don't have the supplies to make another one. And the TARDIS can't get us out of here. Right now, the TARDIS is, well, the TARDIS is broken." I looked at the TARDIS. There wasn't supposed to be a way to break it.

"But, the TARDIS can't be broken." I rushed up to the control panel, pulling and pushing and switching things. "The TARDIS is never broken." I was more scared now than ever. With the TARDIS broken, there was nothing we could do.

"It gets broken more than you think. It's not really broken, just protecting itself against the Weeping Angels." The Doctor stilled my hands and wiped a tear from my cheek. I hadn't realized I had been crying at all. "But we'll get out of this."

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Of course we will." I looked around at the control room. "Any weapons we can use against it?" The Doctor shook his head. "Alright. We have to face these intensely scary creatures with nothing but your mind and my clumsiness."

We stood in front of the door to the TARDIS, waiting for one of us to reach out to open the door. I looked at the Doctor and he looked at me. He held out his hand and I took it. He opened the door and we walked out into the graveyard.

The first thing I noticed was the lack of angel statues surrounding the mausoleum. And I knew in that instant that they were what we were looking for. The Weeping Angels were close, probably closer than we thought. We stood outside the TARDIS not moving for a few moments.

"We had better find them. If we don't move, they'll find us first." The Doctor kept holding my hand as we crept forward.

For a moment, I lost grip of the Doctor's hand. And in that moment, I knew something bad was going to happen. I took a step and the ground seemed to fall out from under me. Really, I just fell into an open grave that had no coffin in it yet. I screamed as I fell and the Doctor looked over the edge of the grave.

"Rachel," The Doctor looked worried. "Don't move, don't make a sound, and if you get out of there, please, whatever you do, don't blink."

"How would I possibly get out of here?" I looked for something to grab onto, something that could help me get out. I looked up and the Doctor was gone. Tiny spaces and I never got along. I looked around the grave in front of me and backed against the side. My back ran into something that I rejoiced in feeling. There was a ladder that I hadn't noticed in my state of duress. The Doctor hadn't noticed it either. "Thank you, whoever is up there and wants me to survive." I quickly and carefully climbed the ladder out of the grave. "Doctor, I'm alright now, I've got out of-" I looked around the graveyard. There was no one there.

No one, except four statues of angels weeping into their hands, stood right in front of me. I stood still, staring. At least all four were right in front of me in my line of sight. But there was no way that I could stay like this. I had to blink sometime. My eyes were straining as it was.

"Doctor?" I tried winking one eye at a time. There was some relief in it. "Doctor!?" He wasn't responding. "DOCTOR!" I thought I heard the Doctor running or the shouting of my name, but then it was probably my imagination. "Doctor, please." I decided to address the Weeping Angels then. "Look, I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm gonna say this anyway." I took a deep breath, winking one eye at a time. "You can touch me and do whatever it is you do. I do have one request. Make me go somewhere nice. Somewhere I might like." There were tears forming in my eyes. The Doctor most likely wasn't going to save me. I was gonna be sent back in time and there was nothing to stop it. I took one last deep shaky breath.

I closed my eyes and then I felt it. It was like I was being stretched and thrown about. Before I knew what was happening, I was thrown against a hard surface and my breath was knocked out of my lungs. There was no way for me to know where or when I was, just that I was no longer in the graveyard. The Doctor wasn't going to come to save me. The truth sank in my gut like a boulder. He had said there wasn't a way for him to find me. I was alone.

"What's this then?" Suddenly there was a figure in front of me, blocking the sun from my view. "Are you alright?" It was a woman with a parasol. "What are you wearing?" I looked down at my dress and then looked up at hers. She was wearing a full length dress and looked like she was from the 1920s or something.

"My dress shrunk." There was nothing else I could say to explain it. The woman looked like she didn't believe me. "Where am I? No, that's not important. When am I?"

"When? This is the beginning of February 1913. How did you not know that?" I shook my head.

"Long story. You probably wouldn't believe it anyway." She smiled at me.

"Does it involve your dress getting shrunk?" She laughed at herself. "As for where you are, you are in Yorkshire, on the property of my parents, the Earl and Countess Bingham. I'm Elizabeth Bingham. Who are you?" I decided a lie was best.

"My name is Rachel, but I don't remember much else." I placed my hand on my head, as if I could convey I had some sort of head injury.

"Oh, dear. We must get you back to our estate, Drawling Abbey. We can call for a doctor and see if you remember anything." I shook my head.

"I don't want to impose." It was her turn to shake her head.

"I'm the only daughter of my parents and I have no one to talk to, save the servants, but they have jobs to do and my parents don't like me to talk to the servants." She smiled and helped me up. "You can meet them. They're all quite friendly and you can meet my fiancé, James." She put my hand in her arm and walked so that I wouldn't fall. "Oh, and we can get you out of those clothes and into something more fitting for a lady."

I smiled and we walked from where I fell to the great big huge estate. I couldn't help but gawk at the sheer size of the whole thing. I had never seen a house this big before. The only thing I had seen on this scale was a castle.

"It is sort of big, isn't it?" She looked over at me, staring up at the huge building and laughed. I closed my mouth from gaping.

"Come on, then."

That first day, she helped me by giving me a dress for supper. The maids did my hair and I dined with her family. That first day, they sort of adopted me. I became like their family, a cousin that was visiting for an undetermined amount of time. They accepted me. They knew I didn't have a back story, but they still tried to make me happy.

Weeks passed. Time continued in a linear way, a way that I wasn't used to. But I had to adapt to it. The family introduced me to the heir of the estate and the title, a cousin. His name was William. I didn't really like him. He was a bit of a snob. He didn't like me because I was 'unknown'. He didn't want me stealing his money from the family or using the money for myself when it should be tucked away for when he inherited. I wasn't going to, but he was unconvinced.

The Earl and Countess were very hospitable. The Countess almost took on the role of a mother figure. She was concerned about my livelihood. She tried to set me up with gentlemen that she thought I would like. Each one was very nice and each had some very good qualities, but I didn't fall in love with any of them. The Countess said that was what she wanted and she didn't seem peeved when I refused to marry any of the presented gentlemen.

It had been three months since I had been living at Drawling. I was comfortable and happy and I accepted it as my temporary home. I didn't want to stay there forever, though; didn't want to wear out my welcome.

William was in the town at the Dower House for a few weeks stay in order to speak to the Earl and get more acclimated towards being the head of the estate. One night, Elizabeth and her parents were dining with James and his family. I was left alone to dine by myself. It was by choice, of course, I didn't want to invite myself or get in the way of any wedding planning that was going on. I had dined with them before; there was no need for me to do it this time.

I was just going to dine with the servants in regular clothes, but they wouldn't allow it. They made me sit at the great big table all alone. They also made me dress up. I told them there was no need, but as soon as the butler escorted William in, I understood all the fussing. Apparently, William hadn't been informed that the Bingham's were dining out this evening. He was escorted into the main hall and I had to break the news to him. I inwardly groaned.

"I'm sorry to inform you that the Bingham's are dining out this evening." I stood up and walked out of the library toward the man standing in the front of the hall. "You are welcome to join me. The cook has made plenty of food and I am dining alone."

William looked as if he would snuff me, but instead nodded and followed me into the dining room. We sat closer to each other, instead of across the long table. The food was brought out and served. I had to stop myself from sighing with discontent. I hated this formality sometimes. And I didn't particularly want to dine with William, especially since it was just supposed to be me, alone.

"Are you enjoying the weather?" I made the first move at conversation because goodness knew that he wouldn't.

"Must we really talk about the weather?" I shrugged at his question. "Can we talk about how you like the estate or how you are enjoying your life here?" He seemed almost snide in his comments.

"I'm not trying to use their generosity for my own gain, if that is what you are thinking." He placed his fork down. He squared his gaze at me and I did the same to him.

"Are you not?"

"No, I am not. I did not ask for this. I did not plan this. When Elizabeth is married or maybe before, I will leave Drawling faster than a deer fleeing a hunter. This isn't a permanent residence. I'll leave some time or another." I took a sip of the wine that was in my goblet. "I was actually thinking of leaving quite soon."

"I wish you wouldn't." I looked up at him. For the first time, the full force of his attractiveness ambushed me. Of course, he was handsome, but he had been so prick-ish to me, I hadn't much noticed. "It's quite a relief to have you around here." He smiled and it was one of the more beautiful things I had seen. We ate dinner and the relationship bloomed from there.

More time passed. William came to visit the family and we would spend time together and sometimes take walks together. We became closer to each other and more and more in a romantic way.

Elizabeth's wedding was beautiful. She married Wesley, a very nice, rich man. It was the perfect match for her and her parents. She loved him and he loved her. I heard that didn't happen often where I was, or when I was. She looked gorgeous in her gown and I couldn't help but cry at the ceremony. The reception was after the ceremony. It was outside and the sun was setting. The mood and scenery was brilliant.

The best part was that I was finally getting used to the whole society of the time. I even knew some of the dances. I was adjusting and I was almost happy. William, of course, was in attendance and we danced a few songs together. It was perfect.

The week after, he proposed. During a garden party, he pulled me aside and asked for my hand in marriage. Having fallen in love with him, I graciously and quickly accepted. We would be happy together and it didn't matter that he was inheriting the estate or anything. I was just happy to have found love.

Then everything changed when the engines sounded.

I was sitting under a tree, reading a novel when I heard them. William was just walking in my direction when it showed up. The TARDIS in its full bright blue glory appeared out of thin air. Luckily, it wasn't in William's line of sight. He couldn't see it behind the tree I was under. William just saw me staring at something he couldn't see.

The Doctor popped his head out from inside the TARDIS. His face lit up in a huge smile as soon as he saw me.

"Ah, Rachel, there you are." He didn't look like he could be happier. "Come along, then." I glanced at William then at the Doctor. William had stopped walking. I didn't know why. "How long have you been here?"

"A little more than a year and a half." The Doctor understood.

"I'm sorry, Rachel, but we have to go now. I defeated the Weeping Angels. They won't bother us ever again." Tears started to brim my eyes. I knew at once what I had to do.

"Just give me a moment, Doctor." I brushed out my skirt and blinked back any tears that were in my eyes and walked towards William.

"Rachel, what is going on over there?" I took his face in my hand. I was determined not to cry.

"William, no matter what happens; I love you deeper than I have loved anyone else in the world." William grabbed my hand, pressing it harder into his cheek, trying to keep me there. I pressed the book I was reading into his free hand. "Goodbye."

I ripped my hand from William's and ran towards the TARDIS behind the tree. I heard William's footsteps as he ran after me. But I was in the TARDIS and we were flying, probably before he could even see what was disappearing. All he saw was empty space.

I sat in my regular chair in the TARDIS and found my notebook. I was trying not to cry and succeeding. I picked up my book, ready to write after such a long time.

_The girl never expected what she got and she never expected things to happen the way they did. She had to leave everything behind so that she could travel. She made hard decisions and she tried not to cry. She wanted to be brave for the Doctor. The Doctor quickly became her best and only friend. _

_The Doctor showed her that all monsters exist. All nightmares could become a reality. And every time she faced these new threats, she got more and more scared. She wanted to be brave, but somehow, she couldn't always be fearless. She started to develop new fears. The Doctor tried to defeat every one for the girl, his friend. But the girl realized something. Sometimes fears come in more forms than the monsters who want you dead. Sometimes nightmares come in the form of something you can't see and they fester inside your soul. Those are the deadliest. _

_Because you can't escape them._

I couldn't take it anymore. I rushed out of the control room, past the Doctor and the console, notebook clutched to my chest. I didn't stop running until I reached my room. Slamming the door shut, I sank to the floor and crawled to my bed. Wracking sobs seized my body as I thought of what could have been with William. I could have been so happy.

I looked at the engagement ring William had picked out for me. It wasn't extravagant or excessive. It was beautiful and everything I could want in a ring. And he was everything I could want, and never have again, in a man. William would have to move on and find someone else to marry and live with and love. I made my decision, the Doctor. Because I knew I didn't really belong in the world of World War I. It wasn't my time. I would have to move on, though it would pain my heart to do so.

I slipped the ring from my finger and found a long necklace chain. I slipped the ring on the chain and clasped the chain around my neck. The ring made an imprint on my hand, almost cutting into my palm. I hadn't stopped crying the whole time. My tears were all used, but I couldn't stop the sobs. I didn't realize until later that the Doctor was standing outside my door, listening to every noise I made.

But nothing mattered at the moment. I had found something that I loved and valued most in the world. It was William, but I would never have him. I had ruined his life enough by disappearing into thin air; I couldn't go back to him. I would have to make do with the ring and the memories of my time with the first man I fell in love with.

I composed myself and changed my clothes, putting them away so I wouldn't see them. I walked out of the room, wiping my eyes. There were things to do now. I had no choice but to continue on with the Doctor. Regretting my decision was out of the question. I walked into the control room and smiled as the Doctor looked up and smiled at me. There were pangs in my heart, but I would do this and the Doctor would never be the wiser.


	4. Dentist

_The girl and the Doctor cherished the moments when they were happy and carefree. When there was no need of running and fighting. They could just travel and find new places and experience all the universe had to offer. _

_They both knew that pain and suffering were to come and each had their struggle through everyday life. They each had their secrets, but they took the time to laugh and be supremely child-like together. The Doctor made sure the girl grasped each happy moment and made sure each moment was memorable. There were a lot of happy times._

_But there were also the times that were heartbreaking._

"Doctor, I swear, if you don't fly this TARDIS faster, I will bite your head off." I clutched at my seat and tried not to fall off. The Doctor was flying the TARDIS recklessly at my request. The Doctor pulled a lever.

"Oh, you can't bite my head off; you've got a tooth ache. That's why we're going to the dentist." The Doctor danced around the console, still pulling lever and pressing buttons.

I clutched at my jaw as I was thrown off the chair and landed on the floor, skirt spilling around me. I got up, brushing my skirt, thanking any higher power that nothing was shown when I fell. Pain shot through my tooth and I clasped my jaw again.

"I wish River were here, she could get us there faster." I knew the Doctor would take offense to the statement, but I wasn't really in a nice state of mind. "I don't know how this happened. I have excellent dental hygiene. My dentist at home used to compliment me on it."

"Maybe it was something you ate." The Doctor relaxed as the TARDIS stopped moving. He turned and smiled. "We're here, out you go."

"Ugh, stupid alien food. I blame you for this." I stuck out my tongue and walked out of the TARDIS. "And now I have to see an alien dentist. As if my regular dentist wasn't bad enough." I stepped out of the TARDIS and into a waiting room. The TARDIS was in the center of the room and everyone else in the room was pushing themselves up against the nearest wall. Even the receptionist. I had to stop myself from chuckling. I walked up to the desk. "Hello, I wouldn't want to inconvenience the doctor, but I need him to help me. My tooth is acting up and it needs to be checked out." I smiled my most charming smile.

I don't know if it was my charm or the fact that huge police box landed in the room, but she nodded and immediately left the desk. I assumed she was conversing with the dentist. I walked back over to the TARDIS and knocked on the door. The Doctor's cheery face popped out and I smiled in return.

"Ok, so I think they can see me today. I'll probably just have to wait a while." The Doctor's smile dropped off his face at my statement. "I am a walk-in patient." The Doctor still looked a little upset. He was never good at waiting in a linear time sense. I slightly grinned.

"Well, how long will you have to wait? I can just pop us to that time and that'll be it." He smiled at his idea, but I shook my head.

"Look, I'm a big girl. Of course this is whatever century in the future, but I mean, come on, I can handle myself." I smiled and made to show my muscles, even though I didn't really have any to show. "You can pop out and go somewhere and I'll call when you need to pick me up." The Doctor's face lit up.

"That's a brilliant idea. Alright," He slammed the TARDIS door and I imagined he couldn't get out of the office fast enough.

"Just remember to pick up your phone!" I shouted as the TARDIS started to disappear. I looked around the reception room. There were only two people, so I took a seat at an empty chair and grabbed a magazine.

It might have been a tabloid, but I wasn't sure. The articles were about fashion and the scandal of some alien pop star dating a cyborg. I flipped through it a couple times, each time getting more and more confused at what I was reading. But it passed the time. The receptionist had come back out and told me the doctor would see me, but I still had to wait for the patients before me to go through.

One of the patients got up and walked through the door to see the dentist when their name was called. At least that part was still the same. The other patient walked up to the seat next to me and sat down.

"Excuse me," The woman spoke, well I don't know if she was human, but she was female. I turned my attention to the female before me. She had cat ears and a tail and paws. They moved with her, actually part of her body. "What species are you?" She seemed just as interested in my appearance as I was with hers. Her question still shocked me a bit.

"Oh, I'm human. You know, from Earth." I smiled. Her ears perked up and she leaned in closer to me, examining me.

"I've never seen a real, pureblood human before." I was getting a bit uncomfortable with her staring and proximity to me. I liked my personal space. I tried to smile and look pleasant, but inside I really just sort of wanted to get away from this woman. She leaned back suddenly. "I'm sorry; I don't usually act like this. You must realize, though, you are the only pureblood human on this planet."

I smiled and kept flipping through the same magazine. But I could feel her eyes on me. It was distracting. So I put own the magazine.

"So, what sort of species are you?" I asked, deciding to talk to her instead of just being uncomfortable. She smiled and I saw her canines were pointier than human teeth.

"My mother was part human, but my father was indigenous to this planet." I looked out the window in the room and saw many people walking around outside who looked a lot like her, but they looked much more cat-like.

"What is this dentist like?" At this point I was a bit worried about going to see a dentist on a cat planet. What if he filed down my teeth to points or injected me with something that killed me? My tooth gave a pang and I tried not to cringe.

"Well, he's mostly human. He's older. His grandparents came to this planet to start a new life and his mother married my uncle." She smiled.

"So you're related then." She nodded. "I'm sorry. I must seem rude. What's your name?"

"I'm sure you wouldn't be able to pronounce it. You can just call me Isis. Most people do." I chuckled a bit.

"You'd be surprised at what I can pronounce." The patient who went in before walked out. The receptionist told me to go back. I was confused. "Don't you have an appointment?" I turned to Isis. She smiled and shook her head.

"Not really, just a lunch appointment." I nodded and walked back through the door and into the room.

The walls were stark white. Well, everything was stark white. It unnerved me a bit; seeing the chair blend with the background, and all the tools and tables, harshly white. I was about to walk straight back out of the room and call the Doctor to leave. I figured I could live with the pain, but then my tooth reminded me that it needed to be fixed, immediately.

"Welcome, child, how are you?" A hand placed itself on my back and guided me to the chair, forcing me to sit down. I looked up at the man forcing me into the chair. He had cat ears and was wearing a surgeon's mask and goggles. It freaked me out a bit. I was about to protest.

But, of course, as soon as I was seated, his hands were in my mouth, feeling around. Then there was this scanner thing. I had no idea what was going on. The dentist just kept scanning my mouth and feeling around.

Finally he found that one tooth that was giving me problems.

I accidentally cried out in pain. He just sort of applied pressure to it and kept pressing on it, making it hurt more and more. I felt part of my mouth go numb and I could taste blood.

"Curious." He pulled up a computer of some sort. It was more like a touch screen in mid air. He poked around a bit on the display. I couldn't see anything on it. I could barely make out that there was a screen there. The more he touched the monitor the more confused he seemed to become. "This is impossible." He glanced in my direction and back at the computer. "What are you?" I tried not to get frightened by this incredibly scary figure before me and tried to answer.

"Uh, I'm human?" My answer came out as more of a question than an answer and I chided myself in my mind. I had travelled through time and space with the Doctor, but this seemingly friendly dentist wearing a mask scared me stiff. Daleks and Weeping Angels were worse than this, but still I was petrified.

"You can't be. There haven't been humans, pureblood, since the Discoveries." He looked as confused as I felt. "How have you gotten here?"

"Oh, I'm just-just travelling around with my friend, the Doctor. He and I are exploring really." The dentist's ears perked up as soon as I mentioned the Doctor. It was curious, but it didn't really occur to me that the interest in the Doctor could be sinister. My tooth was still hurting too much to think.

"Would still like me to treat you?" I didn't even take a second to nod my head. It took him less time to get everything set up. He grabbed a scary looking instrument and started to move it near my mouth. He contemplated it a bit. "No, this won't fit." He got up and rummaged through some cupboards. "Who gave you that splendid ring? If you don't mind me asking."

When the dentist had been fumbling through my mouth, it seemed my necklace with William's ring had become uncovered from inside my top. It almost never saw the light of day. Looking down at it, I got lost in the memories for a moment.

"It was my engagement ring," I muttered, not even realizing I was speaking out loud. "He's dead now. Nothing left of him, I suppose." I wiped at the lone tear that presented itself in my eye. I tucked my ring back in my shirt and straightened my skirt, messed with my hair.

"I'm sorry for you loss." A sad smile broke across my face.

"So am I."

"I lost someone very dear to me once, as well. Someone took her away from me and now she is dead. She moved to New New York to be a nurse and I was to join her, but she died before I could." I nodded in sympathy. I knew the feeling of losing someone. "Now, shall I proceed?" The dentist did his thing of fixing my tooth. By the time he was finished, there was absolutely no pain. I smiled and thanked him. He led me out of the room and to the reception area. I pulled out my phone and rang the Doctor. Of course, he didn't pick up the first time. Or the time after that.

I sat in one of the chairs. I picked up the same magazine from before. Isis had walked into the dentist's room as soon as I walked out. Waiting for the Doctor took maybe five minutes before the TARDIS started to materialize before me.

"Took enough time," I sighed under my breath. But I smiled as I saw who was flying the TARDIS, or at least who stuck their head out. "Hello, River." She smiled warmly at me. I had met River Song before and we got along great because I wasn't in love with the Doctor.

"Hello, dear. Tooth all better?" I nodded and followed her into the TARDIS. I stood at the console, leaning on my hands. "That's a lovely outfit." I smiled and looked down at what I was wearing.

"Love your hair, River." It was what we always did. She liked my clothes and I loved her hair. It was like our way of catching up and saying hello. "So, Doctor, what have you two been up to while I was at the dentist?" They looked at each other, the Doctor cleared his throat and River responded.

"We were battling some evil aliens. You know the usual." I smiled. Of course, I knew they probably went out on a date or something. They were actually rather cute together. I absentmindedly started to play with the necklace with William's ring on it. River obviously took note of it. The Doctor obviously avoided noticing it.

Then again, the Doctor was bouncing around, flying us somewhere. I didn't know where we were going, but that was the adventure of it. That was why I loved traveling with the Doctor. There was always some sort of brilliant surprise.

The TARDIS stopped moving and the Doctor looked confused. River walked up behind him as they looked at the scanner. I walked up behind them. But what was on the screen was not something that I could decipher. It looked to be in some kind of code.

"Doctor, what does that say?" The Doctor and River turned around slowly. I was confused; they looked at me like something was utterly and terribly wrong with me. Like I not only had three heads, but my skin was blue with purple spikes running down my back. Which I knew was not the case. I was the same as I always was. I was Rachel Clover, or Rachel Foster for the Doctor, and I had just gone to the dentist because my tooth was aching.

"Who are you?" The Doctor was staring at me with an anger that scared me. "Who are you?" He asked more forcefully this time. I couldn't speak. I could only stutter. "You aren't Rachel Foster, you're something else. The TARDIS hates you. She's trying to get rid of you. She wants you out. She refuses to touch you." All emotion escaped my grasp except fright and misunderstanding.

"She won't even translate the languages in my head like she's supposed to." I grasped my head. My hair cascaded over my shoulders. "This can't be happening, Doctor, it's me, Rachel. Nothing happened. I just went to the dentist is all." I grasped at my shirt and my skirt, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Rachel," River addressed me. "The scanner says that the only things alive in the TARDIS are the Doctor and I." She turned back to the scanner, speaking to the Doctor. "What's wrong? That is Rachel. Why won't the TARDIS recognize her?" I backed up as the Doctor walked towards me. I landed on the chair and was forced to sit down. The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at me.

The sound of the screwdriver pierced through my ears. It was so high pitched; hurt my ears so badly. I felt as though I might faint. I thought I did. Except I didn't faint, I was completely awake, but I didn't have control over my body. I stood up, pushing the Doctor away from me. He dropped his sonic screwdriver and it fell down through the open space, down by all the wires.

"Doctor, what's happening?" I kept walking forward, to the controls of the TARDIS.

"You're not doing this yourself?" The Doctor stared at me. River ran down to get the screwdriver back. I reached out for the controls, but the Doctor held me back. Or at least, he tried to.

"Doctor, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm certainly not doing this myself." I pushed the Doctor off me and he slammed to the floor. I tried to walk over to check if he was alright, to take back control of my body, but I couldn't. Whatever was happening to my body, I wasn't controlling it. River rushed back up, sonic screwdriver in hand.

"Doctor!" River rushed over to him, made sure his pulse was alright. "You knocked him unconscious?" My body started pulling and pressing and switching things around. The TARDIS started moving, but I had no idea what I was trying to do.

"River, stop me, please, what am I doing?" River ran up to me, well, rather behind me. "River?" She continued to watch me.

"Rachel, stop what you're doing." River started pulling things and pushing things as well. I groaned.

"Do you think I'm not trying to stop?" I had enough control over my head to glance at her and she looked at me.

"Rachel, you're flying us into the heart of the sun. We'll all die." I looked at my hands. They were moving on their own accord. I tried to think of something, anything that would stop what I was doing.

My hands kept grabbing at the controls and River kept working so that she could try to reverse what I was doing.

"Rachel Foster, what are you doing?" The Doctor had regained consciousness and was standing right behind me. "Do you really want to do this? Think about this. Think about something happy. Think about William."

"Doctor," I sniveled. "You know that isn't exactly a happy thought." Tears welled up in my eyes and I couldn't even try to wipe them away.

"Now, you and I both know that is a lie. When you were with William, you were happy. I know you were happy because leaving him crushed you worse than I've seen happen to anyone." I tried to shake my tears away. The Doctor knew it was too painful for me to hear this. "I took you away from him. I made you leave him. If I had never found you, you could have had this and all that comes with it. You could have had a nice human, happy life." The Doctor yanked at the necklace around my neck and shoved the ring into my line of vision. "You should have been angry with me. But you just cried and cried until you couldn't cry anymore. And that's how I knew you left the only happy place you had ever known."

"Doctor, I don't think what you're doing is helping," River shouted at the Doctor. But she couldn't see my hands. They were slowing in their movement.

But I still didn't want to hear what the Doctor had to say. "Doctor, stop, please." I pleaded with him. To hear all of this from his lips and of all times now, it just hurt like a bullet slowly being driven through my chest. I had left William behind a few adventures ago. I was starting to accept I would never go back to him. I was finally starting to feel better about it. I ground my teeth together, trying to stop myself from sobbing.

"Think of all the pain that I've caused you, Rachel Foster. Why are you here? " He grasped my shoulders and pulled me away from the controls, hugging me as I fell to the ground. He held me as I cried like he hadn't the first time. River looked on in amazement. I tasted metal in my mouth. I spat and there was a small, almost too tiny to see, little metal chip. The Doctor didn't pick it up until I stopped crying. Once I was done, I got up and looked at the scanner. My cheeks felt raw and I didn't even want to look in the mirror. I knew I looked a right mess and I felt like one too.

"Doctor," I asked as I looked at the scanner, now completely written in English. "What happened exactly?" I sniffed and pressed down my hair. I straightened my clothing, trying to play it all off as though nothing had happened.

"I think that dentist you went to put this chip in your tooth. It was like mind control. He wanted you to crash the TARDIS in the heart of the sun. If I'm not mistaken, I might have accidentally killed his love?" The Doctor looked at me for confirmation.

"In New New York?" I remembered what the dentist had said about the love of his life; the nurse that died before they could be reunited. The Doctor nodded.

"I see, so this was revenge. I'm sorry you had to be in the middle of this." I nodded as the Doctor continued to analyze the chip from my mouth. "Well, I guess I should explain why I said what I said." The Doctor cleared his throat and adjusted his bowtie. "The only way to keep you from driving the TARDIS into the center of the sun was to make you feel utter pain so that this chip here would disconnect from your nerves. I'm sorry. I know it wasn't pleasant. I would have used the screwdriver if in the process your head wouldn't have exploded." I nodded and sat down on the bench.

River came up and sat next to me. She put her arm around me as a comfort and it helped. If only just a little bit.

"So is it over then, Doctor?"River looked at the Doctor, waiting for an answer. He turned around, smiling.

"Of course, River. Rachel is fine and all things are dandy." He started to dance around the controls probably taking us somewhere far away from wherever we were at the moment. River rubbed my back, squeezed my arm and walked over to help the Doctor fly the TARDIS.

They looked so happy. And I smiled along with them. They joked and flirted nonstop with each other. We dropped River off back at her cell and the Doctor walked back into the TARDIS, blushing.

"You alright, Doctor?" I smiled at him. Though I'm sure the smile, as they say, didn't reach my eyes. The Doctor smiled back.

"Of course I am, Rachel Foster." I smiled at the name. "And you?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" We smiled and the Doctor tried to make me laugh as we flew through the time vortex. But, really, I just felt empty.


	5. Deja Vu

I rubbed my eyes as I stepped out of my room. My hair was similar to that of Medusa's. I made a mental note to braid my hair before I went to sleep again that night. Something felt strangely familiar about all this, but I knew it was just another 'regular' day in the TARDIS. We were flying through time and space. Something I was actually quite used to at the moment. I smiled the same smile at the Doctor as I walked into the control room. He was sitting in my usual chair, staring at the console.

"Hello, Doctor, how are you today?" The Doctor smiled at me, a tired smile. I knew the feeling. I guess sometimes even people like the Doctor just need a break from their everyday lives. To get a break from mine, I flew away. The Doctor couldn't escape his life. This, running and jumping and fighting, was something he had to go through every day.

"Rachel Foster, looking as chipper as ever." My smile brightened. Ever since my last dentists visit, I had been feeling lackluster. As if I wasn't even living anymore. As if it was just the same day, over and over again. We land, we run, we survive, and we fly away. That is what always happened.

"So, Doctor, where are we going today?" I sat next to him on the chair. "Anywhere in time and space again?" The Doctor laughed. "Well, when are we going?" The Doctor made a sly look at the door.

"Oh, we're already there." I smiled and ran towards the door. "Wait," My feet stopped steps before the door. "You can't go out there dressed like that. You might start a riot." He smiled at me. "No, no pants. Go back there and put on the nice flowery dress next to the matador costume." I smiled.

"Do you know every piece of clothing in that huge wardrobe?" I smiled and ran back. I found the dress immediately. It was perfect, a cream dress with burgundy and amethyst colored flowers around the middle. It was totally 1950s style with the border print fabric and the crinolines that went underneath. I quickly changed and put my hair up in a nice French twist.

The Doctor smiled as I walked out of the wardrobe and towards the door outside. He grabbed his jacket and we walked outside. As I suspected we were in the 1950s, except there were aliens.

"Doctor, where or when are we?" He smiled at me and grabbed my arm. We started walking towards what looked like a small town's Main Street. There was a diner and a city hall and it all looked so perfect. "This is all sort of Pleasantville, isn't it? Well, Pleasantville with aliens." To prove my point a guy who looked like a human jock walked past with his girlfriend, a tentacle-faced cheerleader.

"We're in the year- well the year doesn't really matter. But really this planet is based on America's 1950s, as you might have guessed." I smiled, still surveying the people and aliens around us, looking so happy and content with their lives. It seemed like everything was perfect. I wanted to just run around and I had the strange urge to burst into song. The Doctor looked down at me and smiled. He must have read my mind. "Feel like bursting into song?"

I nodded and started to hum to myself. We continued walking and I realized that if I listened hard enough, I could hear a song playing and then I started to notice things. There were speakers on every lamp post playing a loop of songs.

"What is this, some sort of theme park?" I asked the Doctor. We were in the center of the town square. I spun in a circle and no one seemed to care. He chuckled as I kept spinning around and around. It was almost like I didn't want to stop. But I ran out of breath and I leaned on a rail with the Doctor.

"No, just a planet that liked the idea of everything being pleasant all the time. No pain or unhappiness, just one big happy planet dressed in 1950s clothing." He smiled and grabbed my hand. "I think it's time for a milkshake." We laughed as we walked into the diner.

They set us at a table. We ordered. I was famished, seeing as I just woke up so I ordered a burger, fries, and a strawberry milkshake, but the Doctor just got a lime milkshake. I stuck my tongue out at him. There were mini jukeboxes on the tables. The Doctor gave me some coins. I picked a few songs and pressed the buttons. A song by Elvis, Brittany Spears and someone named Glarebsgdofh. I figured all the music would be good, it was in the jukebox. We waited for our food. It took a little while, but eventually we got it.

I took the first bite. It was amazing. It tasted just how every burger should taste. The fries were crispy and the shake was amazing. In short, the food was just absolutely ideal. We ate and talked as if there was nothing in the world that could go wrong. The Doctor seemed to get just a little bit happier and more at ease. I guessed this was like a little vacation. There were no threats or people who wanted to kill us. There was just me, the Doctor, the nice people of this planet, good food, happy songs and blue skies.

The rest of the day went by quickly. There was a gathering at the City Hall and people cruised down Main Street. The Doctor and I just watched everything and enjoyed ourselves. Eventually, we went back into the TARDIS so that I could sleep. It was parked just a little ways outside the town center.

"Are you going to fly us out of here tonight? Or are we waiting until morning?" I smiled as I leaned on some of the TARDIS railings.

"Well, it might be nice to stay here for the night. Perhaps there will be some nice morning goings on around here." The Doctor shooed me off to bed. I think he liked the idea of a nice sort of vacation. There really was no threat on the planet. We could just relax and have fun. And I wouldn't be the one complaining about the lack of engine noise as I slept.

I changed out of the dress and folded it on the chair in my bedroom. I braided my hair and completed the rest of my nighttime routine before falling into a perfectly restful night's sleep.

I woke up the next morning feeling perfectly rested. I got up, did my morning routine and dressed in some jeans and a t-shirt. I yawned and walked out of my room.

I rubbed my eyes and made my way to the console room. My hair was a bit out of control. I made a mental note that I should braid my hair before falling asleep. It felt strangely familiar; however, I brushed it off. It was just another day in the TARDIS. I walked into the console room and smiled at the Doctor. He was staring at the controls, sitting in my chair.

"Hello, Doctor, how are you today?" There was weariness in his eyes as he smiled at me. He needed a break from being himself. He was always running and jumping and fighting. He never got a break.

"Rachel Foster, you're looking well rested today." My cheeks hurt as my smile grew wider. It seemed so ordinary for me to be like this, so dull. Ever since visiting the dentist it was if I was living the same day. Each day was the same as the last. We land, we run, we survive, and we fly away. Same again and again.

"So, Doctor, where are we going today?" I sat next to him. "Anywhere in time and space again?" The Doctor nodded. "Well, when are we going?" The Doctor kept nodding his head.

"Just check outside." I ran over to the door. My hand was on the knob before the Doctor called out to me again. "You're going to want to change first. There's a very nice dress that would fit and look nice for you in the wardrobe." I smiled and made my way to the room. "You'll find it right next to the matador costume."

"Do you know every piece of clothing in that huge wardrobe?" I walked into the room and found the dress. It was hard to miss next to the gaudy costume next to the dress. The dress, however, was beautiful, cream with a border print of burgundy and amethyst flowers. I loved that it was of 1950s style. I situated the crinolines and the dress on my body. I pinned my hair up after combing it into a French twist.

I walked out of the wardrobe and towards the door. I caught the Doctor smiling at me. I walked outside as he grabbed his jacket. I looked around. There were aliens everywhere, but I could swear we were in the 1950s on Earth.

"Doctor, where or when are we?" I grabbed his arm and he smiled. It looked like a small town and we were walking down the Main Street. I spotted a city hall and a diner. It was all so perfect. "This is all sort of Pleasantville, isn't it? Well, Pleasantville with aliens." A cheerleader with tentacles on her face walked past with her human jock boyfriend.

"The year doesn't matter. We're on a planet based on America's 1950s. You might have guessed that." I smiled. Everyone here looked so happy and content. It was too good to be true. I had the strange urge to burst into song and I was afraid I didn't have the self control to stop myself. The Doctor looked down and seemingly read my mind. "You're about to burst into song, aren't you?"

We continued to walk through the town square. I couldn't help myself and started to hum a song. It was the same song that I realized was playing over speakers. They were set up on the lamp posts and they were playing a song loop.

"What is this, some sort of theme park?" We had reached the center of town square and I spun in a circle. I couldn't stop myself from turning around and around. The Doctor chuckled at my actions. I leaned on a railing next to the Doctor as I ran out of breath.

"Just a planet that likes happiness and 1950s clothing. No pain or hurt, just contentment; where nothing is wrong." I smiled as he grabbed my hand and we walked towards the diner. "Doesn't a milkshake sound nice?" I nodded as we came to be in front of the restaurant. We laughed and I stepped inside first.

We were seated at a booth near the window and the waiter came over to take our orders. I didn't even need to look at the menu. For some reason I was starving, probably because I had just woken up and hadn't eaten breakfast yet. I ordered a burger, fries and a strawberry milkshake. The Doctor just got a raspberry cheesecake shake. I smiled and stuck my tongue out at him. I looked at the mini jukebox at our table and found some interesting songs. There was one by Elvis, Brittany Spears, and Glarebsgdofh. I didn't really know the last one, but it was the future. The Doctor gave me some coins and I picked the songs. The food took a little while to come, but when it did, it was amazing.

The first bite made my taste buds sing. It was the best food I had ever tasted, like how every burger should taste. The fries were perfectly crisp and the milkshake had just enough strawberry flavor to be perfect. All the food was just perfect. The Doctor and I spoke and ate as if nothing could go wrong. The Doctor was at ease and happy. It was like he was getting a vacation. No one wanted to kill us and there were no vicious monsters to attack us. There was just me, the Doctor, the nice people of this planet, good food, happy songs and blue skies.

The day just didn't seem long enough for all the things to do. In the evening, there was a gathering at the City Hall and Main Street was the place for people to just cruise. The Doctor and I were bystanders, watching everything. I got tired, so the Doctor took me back to the TARDIS so that I could get some sleep. We stood in the console room and I smiled at the Doctor.

"Are you going to fly us out of here tonight? Or are we waiting until morning?" I leaned on the railings of the TARDIS. The Doctor looked at me. He was hiding something and I could see it behind his eyes, but I didn't press the matter.

"Stay here for the night, I guess. There could be something exciting tomorrow." The Doctor stood up and hugged me before shooing me off to my bedroom. It was my opinion, but I thought the Doctor liked the vacation. There wouldn't be the noisy engine sounds as I slept, so there were no complaints from me.

I did my nightly routine before bed. I stripped from the dress and folded it, placing it on the chair in my room. I remembered my thought from the morning and braided my hair. The rest of my night was completely and perfectly peaceful. I slept all night without tossing or turning.

Except when I heard a creak in my room. It was in the middle of the night, but I heard the noise and shot bolt upright in my bed. My covers flew everywhere and as I sat there, I saw the Doctor standing in my doorway.

"Why are you there, Doctor?" The Doctor looked at me. He smiled and I spied the dress I had worn in his hands. "What are you doing with my dress?"

"Oh, uh," He ran his hands quickly through the back of his hair and walked into my room. "Well, let's just say that I am getting the dress so I can wash it for tomorrow." I crossed my arms.

"Why do you need it for tomorrow? I'm not going to wear it twice in a row." I got out of bed and grabbed the dress. The Doctor was up to something. I could tell by the way he was looking at me. He was guilty of something. "What are you up to Doctor?" I was getting a bit more perturbed as the Doctor said nothing.

"Well, I thought we needed a break. You looked so upset. I was a bit upset. You needed some happiness and this whole thing has made you happy." The Doctor wasn't making sense. A growl sounded from within my throat. I didn't know where the growl had come from, but I knew I was a bit angry.

"What do you mean, Doctor?" I walked forward. He backed a little against the my wall.

"We've been repeating the same day over and over again." I had dropped the dress and it fell to the floor, spreading out across like liquid. "I'm sorry, we both needed some perfection, and I thought maybe we could be happy just doing this for a while. But then we got here and I never wanted to stop." I drew in a deep breath. I was trying to calm myself, but there was something I had to know.

"How many times?" The Doctor didn't look like he was going to answer. "How many times have I repeated this day?" The Doctor cleared his throat.

"Well, it's been the same day, really. But technically, we've repeated the same day, uh," He cleared his throat again. "14 times. But I mean, uh, this whole planet really lives the same life over and over again. So it was just like we visited this planet 14 times."

"Get out of my room," I pushed him towards the door. He willing stepped out of my room. I closed the door and locked it. I turned on my lights and grabbed my notebook from my nightstand. "The same day over and over again," I whispered to myself. I opened my book and turned the page so that I would have room to write. I needed to write out my feelings and this was the best way I knew how.

_Sometimes it felt like the days were the same. Every day it was a routine for the Doctor and the girl who traveled with him. Each adventure had different people and different places. Yet somehow, each new adventure was exactly the same. The Doctor noticed something. The girl was unhappy._

_The girl tried to hide it, but somehow the Doctor knew. And when he found the opportunity, he did something. The Doctor took the girl and made everything perfect. The girl didn't want perfection, but he gave it to her anyways. When the girl realized what had happened, she was livid, but then she realized the kindness of the Doctor. _

_And she was able to forgive him._

I took a deep calming breath. I knew I had overreacted to the whole situation. I took my braided hair and twisted it into a bun. My slippers slid onto my feet as I walked out to find the Doctor. Just like always, the Doctor was in the console room. I sat down on my chair. The Doctor leaned against the controls. He looked uncertain. It was a look I had never before seen on the Doctor's face.

"You shouldn't manipulate me, you know." I crossed my arms. "I'm not just a toy you can play with. I'm a person." I slouched down a bit and pulled down my sleep shirt. "I'm your friend. You can talk to me. And I'll try to confide in you more. I know I've been a little listless for a while, but really, I just want things to go back to normal." I patted the seat next to me. The Doctor walked over and sat down. "I'm sorry I got so angry."

"No, you had the right to. I was playing with your mind." I bumped the Doctor's shoulder with mine.

"Well, just as long as you don't do it again." I smiled. He smiled in return. I knew he wouldn't because he knew if he manipulated my mind again I would kick his butt. "Now I really need to get back to sleep. What time is it?" The Doctor looked at the watch on his wrist.

"It's about 3 o'clock in the morning here. I think sleep would be best for you right now." He kissed the top of my head.

"Goodnight, Doctor." I paused as I just about walked out of the room. "Doctor," I got his attention as he turned to me. "How did I not know what was going on? How did I not remember?"

"At midnight this planet resets itself. You were asleep, so you got reset; whereas I was awake and able to remember it all. It's quite the phenomenon." I looked at him with concern. I didn't want to forget what happened as soon as I fell asleep. The Doctor read the worry on my face. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. You were awake at the time it reset." I nodded and smiled, bidding the Doctor goodnight one last time. I walked back into my room and jumped into bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light. I didn't wake up until 10 o'clock the next morning.

I opened my eyes and stretched my limbs. I went into the wardrobe room and grabbed a new dress to wear that day. I did my morning routine and dressed myself. I walked into the control room. The Doctor was surprisingly dozed off on the chair. Trying not to wake him, I grabbed some money and opened the door. I walked quickly to the diner.

"I've been eating nothing but burgers and fries and milkshakes for the last 14 days. I'm surprised my waistline hasn't expanded to the size of a house." I smiled, laughing at my silliness, and looked at my reflection as I passed a window display. I burst into the diner and sat at the counter. The waiter came up and asked for my order. I told him what I wanted and surprisingly quickly, I got my food and I was leaving to get back to the TARDIS.

I walked in and the Doctor was still dozed off. I didn't want to wake him, but the TARDIS door accidentally slammed shut behind me. He jolted upright and grabbed at his person. He jumped up and smiled slightly.

"So, what have you got there?" He was referring to the two cups I had in my hands. I held one out to him. He grabbed it and immediately stuck his finger to taste what it was. "Oh, a banana shake. Bananas are good. Lots of potassium. Love a good banana." I handed him a straw.

"Yeah, I figured you might like it." I smiled and put my straw in my lid. I had gotten myself a mocha milkshake. I had been deciding between a strawberry one and the one I had, but somehow, I felt a bit sick of strawberry.

The Doctor smiled and placed his milkshake down. I sat on my chair and the Doctor started towards the controls so that we could fly away. I took a sip of my milkshake.

"Doctor," I muttered. He turned to look at me. "Let's just stay here for a moment. We need to talk." The Doctor nodded and sat down next to me. We sat in an awkward silence for a while before he spoke up.

"Where do we start?" He held his hands out to me, as if adding to his question. Palms facing up, we were both surrendering. I shrugged my shoulders. There wasn't a right place to start; there were just points in the story to start.

"How about the beginning of all this?" I placed my cup down and clasped my hands together. There was no way to tell if this talk would be good for our friendship or not. But we both knew that there were things unsaid that needed to be spoken. Both of us took a deep breath. He cleared his throat and I played with my skirt. "Well, I don't know what to tell you." I cleared my throat and began.

We spent the day talking things through. By the end of it all, we both seemed exhausted. I, for one, was very emotionally spent. But I felt so much better about the whole thing. By the end of the day, we were done.

I stood and grabbed the Doctor's hand and led him outside. We were just in time to watch all the people cruising down the Main Street. It was a pretty sight to see. There was neon everywhere and there was music playing. The world seemed right and perfect. Even if we knew it wasn't, it was nice to pretend that life was fine for just one more time.

We flew away in the TARDIS from the planet. I wasn't quite sure what kind of adventure was next, but for the first time in a while, I was completely excited to see what was coming.


	6. Dragon

I think I was supposed to be going home. I'm sure it would be better for me to go home. Safer. Just plain better for me. There was security and family and friends. That's what my brain kept telling me.

But really there was just loneliness. So I was staying. As if the Doctor would let me go. And I got to meet new people all the time. There were so many different stories people had to tell and it was amazing to see how people lived their lives. Even though I never got to fully immerse myself with them in their routines. We never stayed long enough for me to experience it. I still found it exhilarating to meet them.

"Where are we going now?" I sat in my seat, examining my nails. We were just flying around at the moment. I had no idea where we were going. The Doctor refused to tell me. "Come on, I'm going to find out sometime, you might as well tell me." The Doctor didn't answer, just laughed and continued dancing around the controls.

"Rachel Foster, you are in for the best adventure of your life." The Doctor peered around the console. "Just you wait." I smiled and leaned back into my seat. The Doctor pulled a lever and before I knew it, we were stopped.

The Doctor ran to the door. Throwing the doors open, I saw that we were in some sort of forest, by a cave. The Doctor let out a sound of happy accomplishment before running outside.

"Come along then, Rachel Foster!" He called back as he ran out. I smiled, but noticed that he had left his sonic screwdriver right next to one of the buttons. I grabbed it and placed it in my pocket. I grabbed my jacket and kept walking out the TARDIS door. I locked the door behind me and turned to see the Doctor was nowhere in sight. A slight panic seized me, but then I felt the tackle to the ground and something very hot in the air, but as soon as I felt it, it was gone.

After sputtering leaves out of my mouth I looked up into the most beautiful pair of chocolate brown eyes I had ever seen. My words caught in my throat. He helped me get up from the ground. I thought him very handsome, until he opened his mouth.

"Are you a moron?" His voice made my knees weak, but I was sure my eyes were bugging out of my head from his rudeness. "Everyone in the forest knows that this place is forbidden." I brushed off my dress and picked some leaves out of my braid.

"I'm not really from around here," I replied stiffly. I crossed my arms. "Where am I? Have you seen my friend? And why was the air hot just then?" The man seemed to be overwhelmed a bit with my questions. "And who are you and why did you knock me down?" The man before me sighed and grabbed my arm. He dragged me along with him. I wasn't sure where we were going, but I certainly didn't want to be taken there.

"You are in the kingdom Camelot, rather the forest surrounding it. No one comes here by accident. If you were not alone then your friend is most likely dead. And the reason you felt that hot air is because you were near the cave." I planted my feet firmly where I stood and wrenched my arm from his grip.

"Why is the cave dangerous?" The man turned back to me and grabbed my arm once more. This time, he was not as gentle as the last time.

"The Great Dragon lives there." His statement stopped me stone cold in my tracks. He kept pulling me on, but I was just in shock.

"A dragon, are you serious? Like fire breathing and everything?" I smiled. There was no way I should have been giddy at the prospect, especially with the Doctor missing, but the prospect of a real dragon had my stomach doing back flips. The man nodded and I kept walking with him, willingly. Because of that, he let go of my arm. I walked by his side. "Where are we headed?"

"To the camp. Everyone will decide what to do with you there." He kept walking. I rolled my eyes and by doing so, missed a root sticking out of the ground. I fell, but I felt strong arms wrap around my waist. The man set me upright and continued walking. I was about to mutter a thank you when he spoke.

"You really are a clumsy girl, aren't you?" I glared at his back as I fell behind his pace. He was making fun of me and I didn't even know him. Of course, he did look familiar from somewhere, I just couldn't place where. I figured my mind was playing tricks on me. He turned to look back at me, a laugh in his eyes. "We're here." He seemed to catch himself and his expression went blank.

He pushed away a few branches and ushered me into an opening of what he called an encampment. After looking at the site for a bit, I looked back at him. I didn't know how I forgot to register what he was wearing, but once I did, things made more sense. I slapped my hand to my forehead and stepped into the clearing. Everyone was bustling about. Everyone had a job and no one was paying attention to the strange girl in the brightly colored dress.

A woman approached me and examined me up and down. I felt a bit exposed. She seemed to be the matriarch of the whole operation, so when she noticed me, everyone else did as well.

"Who is this, Dorian?" The woman gestured to me with a wooden ladle. Pretty soon I was surrounded by so many people I wasn't sure where they had come from. I backed up from the encircling people, successfully backing right into Dorian, the rude man that saved me from the dragon's fire. He pushed me off him and walked around me to greet the woman.

"I found her by the cave. She was just standing there. She said she had a friend, but there was no trace of anyone else. I suspect the dragon got whoever they were." My heart sank at his statement. I didn't think the Doctor could possibly be dead. He just couldn't be.

"An orphan like you," The woman responded to Dorian. "She can stay the night, but in the morning we're taking her to Camelot so she can be sold as a servant." I had to catch my breath. I was to be sold as a servant? I sat down on a log near me. "Unless one of you lot want to marry her. Though she is a scrawny thing." I looked down at myself. I wasn't that scrawny. People went back to work after that; though a few of the men stayed around. I noticed Dorian standing a little ways off, he was carving some branch and keeping a watchful eye.

"So, where are you from?" The men surrounded me and I felt slightly uncomfortable. They were encircling me like wolves around a lamb. Except, I wasn't as helpless as they thought I was.

"Somewhere not close by." I smiled, trying to be charming, but not wanting anything to escalate. They all chuckled and kept asking their questions. If I was lying I would have said that none of them were attractive. In fact, a few of them would be rather nice looking if they cleaned up a little bit. I mean, I didn't want to marry any of them, but if I absolutely had to, I wouldn't mind. I subconsciously grasped at my necklace with William's ring.

"What you got there?" It was the first time Dorian had spoken up in the conversation. He walked over and grabbed the necklace around my neck. He didn't rip it off, but he was fixated on the ring.

"It's an engagement ring. My engagement ring." I grabbed my ring from Dorian's grasp. "Though he's long gone by now." I dropped the ring back down the front of my dress. "I don't see why you'd care."

"Well, that little piece of shine could pay for some supplies we need and you wouldn't have to be a servant." He crossed his arms and leaned back against a closer tree as I glared daggers at him.

"I'm not giving this up for the world. Sell me into slavery if you like. I'd rather that than selling this." I turned back to the other men, but my gaze was at the ground. "This is the last thing I have of him and nothing is going to take it from me." There was a silence for a while, but then one of the men started to ask more questions. We chatted as they got to know me, and I got to know a little about them.

Eventually, the woman, Marana, decided that my dress was too revealing and took me to change in her tent.

"I used to be a pretty thing like you. Got myself a husband and he loved me. He was executed a few years back. He wasn't careful enough when going into the kingdom. At least I have my sons and the others that have joined our little troupe." She smiled a sad smile. "But I still have my pretty dresses from back then. You can wear one. You can even keep it. It does me no good." She rummaged around in a trunk in the corner of the tent. I saw some very nice colors ruffled around as she searched. "Here, this one will look mighty nice on you." She smiled and brought out a midnight blue dress. "Never really wore this, it didn't look too good with my coloring." She smiled and helped me change. I was grateful for her help because there was no way to get this done myself. She smiled and helped me pin up my hair so it wouldn't get in the way of anything. "Why, don't you look gorgeous, my dear. It might be nice to have another woman around here, though we do have a few." I smiled and put on the shoes she gave me.

Walking out of the tent, I had to blush. Every pair of eyes turned to me. The most intense and burning gaze came from the eyes of Dorian. I turned away from him and walked over to a counter where Marana was starting to prepare supper for everyone. I helped her cook and prepare things for everyone with a few of the other women.

"Dear, could you chop a few logs of wood for the fire? You'll find the logs behind my tent." I smiled, picked up my dress and walked back behind the tent. I heard Marana call to someone to help me after I had made it around the back. I picked up a few logs on a pile and placed them near a stump with an axe stuck in it. I grabbed up the axe and was about to swing for the first log, but a grip stopped my swing.

"Surely, you're not going to chop this wood all by yourself?" I tilted my head back in annoyance and breathed out of my mouth.

"That was the plan, actually." I let go of the handle of the axe and turned to face him. "Why are you such an annoying jerk? I mean, why can't you leave me alone?" I grabbed the axe from him. In one swing, the log cracked in half and with two more swings, the halves were quartered. "I think I can handle this. Why don't you go bother someone else?" I smiled and expected him to walk away, but he just stood there.

"Marana expects you to marry one of her sons or one of the other single men in the camp." I rolled my eyes and kept chopping wood for the fire. He didn't say anything else as I kept working. But when I was finished and about to pick up the wood to bring to the fire, he picked up all the pieces before I could.

I slammed the axe back into the tree stump before following him back into the campsite. Dorian placed the wood by the fire where Marana was cooking some meat for everyone. I had nothing else to do, so I decided that walking around the camp might be a good way to pass the time. I walked around the perimeter and found the camp to be actually quite large. Before I could explore further, however, I was called back for the meal I had helped prepare.

We ate and there was singing and merriment. I couldn't stop laughing for most of it. The food was tough and perhaps overcooked, but it satisfied my hunger and allowed me to get more acquainted with the people I would be staying with for the night. Then the singing really started. They begged me to sing for them, but I didn't know any songs of the time, so I stayed silent. Eventually, as the sky started to grow darker, I walked away to continue in my exploration of the forest. I wouldn't go farther than I could see the firelight and I took a cloak as to not get cold.

I walked away and around the camp again, retracing my steps. I expanded my walking perimeter. I could still see the fire, but it was a bit farther away and more obscured by the trees.

There was the snap of a twig somewhere around me. I froze. I had no idea what kind of creatures lurked around this forest. There could be bears or wolves, not to mention the supernatural creatures. I mean, they did have a dragon, who's to say they didn't have griffons or goblins running around hungry for some human flesh? I couldn't move. I was just a little bit afraid. Another branch snapped and I turned to the direction of the noise. Of course I couldn't see anything in the dark, but that didn't stop me from looking.

I carefully and quietly started back towards the campsite. Trying not to make a noise, I checked behind me every once in a while to make sure that nothing was following me. The problem was that I could feel the creature behind me. I just couldn't see whatever it was. I felt the thing's eyes on my back.

"You look scared." The voice behind me made my bones melt and my body jump what felt like five feet into the air. I should have known it was Dorian from the moment I heard the first twig snap, but with the darkness it was hard to tell what was out in the forest. I turned around, angry and smacked him. Not on the face, but I'd like to think my anger still made its point.

"You understand you had me scared stiff? I thought I was going to be attacked by wolves or bears." I backed him up against a tree. Yet he had the audacity to chuckle at me.

"We don't have any of those around here, just dragons and other magical creatures." He moved around me. I grabbed his shoulder, trying to turn him around. What he had done was by no means nice or right. I thought I was going to die.

As I was about to say something more, there was a great rush of wind that almost knocked me off my feet. Dorian pulled me to him and he dropped us to the ground. He was on top of me, leaning on his hands. I tried pushing him off, but he just looked at me, a bit scared. I was confused, but as I looked into the air I saw something I never thought to exist.

Flying above our heads, with the wingspan of a football field was a huge dragon. I thought for sure my eyes were playing tricks on me in the dark. But there, right above the tops of the trees was the giant dragon with his glowing green eyes. As soon as the dragon had passed overhead, Dorian stood, watching its retreating form for as long as he could see it. I stood and brushed myself off and tried to hide the fact that I was blushing.

We walked back into the camp, where everyone was just reemerging from their own tents. They all peeked out tentatively before walking out, as if expecting the dragon to make another flying appearance. They all gathered by the fire and finished what they were doing before.

"Let us hope that no one is hurt on this flight." Everyone looked at everyone else. I glanced at Dorian's face. There was a hard look in his eyes. I turned away and walked to the tent where I was told I could sleep. I changed back into my own dress and fell on the straw mattress. It wasn't a great luxury hotel, but I didn't care. I fell asleep and was woken by a great hustle in the morning.

I woke to find a nice crimson dress laid out for me. As soon as my dress was on the best I could, Dorian burst into the tent. I turned around to look at him.

"Some of your ties are wrong." He gestured to the back of the dress where it was tied together. I sighed. That alone had taken far too much time for me to accomplish. I sat down on the bed. "Come here and turn around." I looked up at Dorian. Did he actually think I would just let him tie up my dress? Well, he was right because I stood and faced my back to him.

With careful hands, he untied the knots I tied. His hands were gentle and seemed to barely even touch me as he retied the dress. Once he was done, he set his hands on my shoulders. He quickly took them away, though. But he fingered the back of the chain for my necklace.

"Tell me about this ring." I grasped it in my hand. I sat back on the bed.

"He was a man I met and fell in love with. I had to leave him. And that is the end of it." I smiled up at him. "It's in the past and I'm fine with it. I just like to keep the memory alive. Sometimes I'm afraid I might forget him with the life I live." I smiled. "I know I never will with this around my neck." He nodded and held his hand out to me. I accepted his hand and we walked out of the tent.

"I recently lost someone I loved very dearly as well. We were just married and she got taken by an illness." He linked our arms together as we sat down waiting for our morning meal. Marana walked over to us.

"Dears, a girl had been taken from the kingdom by the dragon." Dorian stood and started rummaging around the campsite. I noticed a few others of the men were doing the same. I turned to Marana.

"What are they doing?" Marana looked at me. There was fear in her eyes, but it wasn't over the dragon.

"They're going to slay the dragon. It has gone too far this time. Taking a child is too much. It has to be stopped." She laid a hand on my head and walked away. I quickly stood. There was no way I was going to miss this.

All of the men were putting on chainmail and grabbing swords, shields, and axes. It was as though they were going to war. I suppose they were. Fighting a dragon was probably no easy ordeal. I tried to stay out of their way as best I could. I was asked by a few of them to help with some clasps and ties. I did what I could and tried to help. By the noon hour they were leaving to fight.

As quickly as I could, I snuck away and followed them. I figured it was a halfway point in the journey when they sat to eat the lunches of bread and cheese we had packed for them. I had a similar one for myself and ate it. Unfortunately for me, I was discovered.

"You just can't stay away from danger can you?" Dorian walked behind the tree I was sitting beneath. Of course, I knew eventually I would have been caught. I just thought it would be closer to the dragon's cave. "I knew you were following us since we left the camp." I sighed. I knew he would ask me to go back. "You can follow as long as you don't get into danger." He smiled and walked back to the other men. I smiled and as they walked on towards the cave.

The TARDIS came into view and I knew we had arrived. I ran over to it and used my key to open the door. I tossed in the clothes I had worn and the blue dress. There was no way I was giving that up. I took the sonic screwdriver from the pocket and ventured out.

The men had already gone into the cave. There was fire bursting out of the opening, so I tread carefully as I entered. I heard the noises of battle echoing off the walls. I listened and it seemed that there were many people being wounded in the process. I made it to the part of the cave that expanded to a high ceiling and open space and sighed in relief when I saw that no one was killed, or mortally injured, just unable to go on fighting. They were all lying on the floor, groaning in pain. The dragon seemed to be walking away.

I picked up a sword and a shield, ready to defend myself should the dragon start to attack me. A few of the men got up to start taking their kinsmen out of the cavern.

"Its fine, I've got everything taken care of here," I gestured to them so that they would move quicker. Unfortunately, this caught the dragon's attention. I turned to face the creature and steadied my feet. The dragon blew a stream of fire and I held up the shield to protect myself as I dodged the flame.

This would be easy, as long as I could kill a living creature. It went against everything I stood for. My resolve strengthened, however, as the dragon tried to grab me in its teeth. There was no way I was going to become some dragon's meal. I jabbed at it with the sword in my hand and it backed away.

We continued our fight as I saw that Dorian was unconscious off to the side against the wall. I got higher ground and was face to face with the dragon. It fell to the ground and I ran to stand atop it, prepared to end its life. As I looked into its eyes, I realized that I probably couldn't. However, I raised my blade over where I presumed its heart to be. About to have the blade pierce the dragon's skin, I stopped. Instead I took out the Doctor's screwdriver.

"You're just scared aren't you?" I pointed the screwdriver around the cave and heard the sound echo through the cavern. I knelt next to the creature and touched its head. The dragon looked completely defeated.

"Rachel Foster, don't hurt her!" The Doctor appeared in an opening of the cave and rushed over. I stood and smiled at him.

"Doctor, where have you been?" I smiled as he brought out his sword. I realized he had been living it up in the kingdom. He was wearing chainmail, which I was sure the dragon didn't have on hand.

"I've been looking for you." I smiled. "Where have you been?" He dropped the sword and ran up to hug me. "I'm afraid the dragon thought a little girl was you when she flew out last night. It's all right now. Just got finished taking the girl back to her family." I smiled and heard Dorian groan.

I walked over to him, dropping my sword and shield in the process. Kneeling beside him, I saw that his legs were wounded. I looked up at the Doctor. Realizing I still had the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. I handed it back to him and he pointed it at Dorian.

"Doctor, I need help." I looked more closely at Dorian's wounds. I tore off some of his shirt to stop the bleeding with pressure. "Please, this is important." The Doctor stooped down with me and examined his wrist for a pulse. There was a leather bracelet resting there. He seemed perplexed by it, but didn't say anything. Instead he continued in his examination.

"If he stays here, he'll most likely die." The Doctor stood back up and walked away. I would have rushed after him, but instead I stayed with Dorian, thinking the Doctor was going get something that would help. Instead, he came back with the TARDIS. I looked at him as he popped his head out.

"Are you insane? We can't take him into the future." I stood up and walked over to the door of the TARDIS where the Doctor was.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine." I sighed and helped the Doctor put Dorian in the TARDIS on my chair. We started to move and I guessed the engines disturbed Dorian. He woke up and looked around.

"Now, I never thought I would be here again." I looked over at Dorian, not really paying attention what he was saying. "Well, Rachel, where are we going?" I smiled at him.

"We're going to get you better. Aren't you going to ask where you are?" I walked over to see him and see if his wounds were beginning to stop bleeding. Dorian hissed in pain as I checked, but didn't ask anything. The Doctor turned to me, pausing in his flying of the TARDIS.

"You won't get questions from him, Rachel. He's from the future. He's probably used to things like this. Even has a vortex manipulator. He travels through time like us." I looked back at Dorian, puzzled. He shrugged and smiled at me.

"Guilty as charged." I glared at him and walked away, picking up my notebook from my room. He hobbled into my room as best he could after me. I was sure it caused him pain, but he didn't seem to care that he might bleed to death from exerting himself. He sat down on my bed and I got up to sit on the chair.

"You're going to get blood on my bed." Dorian looked down at his leg and how much it was bleeding.

"Well, sorry about that. I'm also sorry about not telling you about how I've lived in the future." He tried to smile at me. I looked at him, but I still couldn't understand why he was where he was. I was about to ask him when the Doctor came in. We had just landed at a hospital and the Doctor helped Dorian into a hospital bed. Nurses instantly surrounded him. Dorian would be fine, but we left him there. The Doctor flew us away and I had time to write.

_The girl and the Doctor met many people in their escapades and adventures. Some were more memorable than others. Some lied about who they were and some were blunt. But each one had a tale to tell. The Doctor and the girl had their tales too. _

_They once met a man that intrigued the girl. He was impolite and mysterious and captivating all at the same time. He was handsome and arrogant. Sometimes she could stand him and sometimes she couldn't. She asked who he was and he never answered. And he surprised her by being from the future, just like her. She asked him again for his story. But he was injured and their ways parted. The tale was never told. _

_Yet the girl hoped she would see him again._


	7. Darkness

_Children are told when they are young, that the dark is full of scary monsters under their bed and in their closets. The girl had seen these monsters and knew they were real. But she had the Doctor and he was like a reliable teddy bear. _

_Each and every time a monster surfaced to scare the girl, the Doctor made sure each and every monster vanished. She could always count on him. There was no monster she couldn't face with the Doctor by her side. She had no doubt in her mind. If anyone tried to hurt her, the Doctor could destroy them. _

_The Doctor could destroy all the monsters._

"Run, Rachel, Run." The Doctor grabbed my hand. I think this was the fastest I had ever run in my life. "Keep up with us Kalara." I grabbed her hand as we kept running. I didn't have a flashlight, but both of the other two did. And I hoped it was enough to get back to the TARDIS.

The darkness was closing in and the Doctor wouldn't tell me anything. All he would say was to run and not stop. My lungs were burning and there was a pain in my side. Still, the Doctor would not let me stop or slow down. It was worse than the Weeping Angels and worse than anything we had ever fought before in our lives. But the Doctor didn't want to fight. He just wanted to run.

But look at me; I'm starting in the middle. Here's the beginning.

"Oh, Rachel, we've been to so many places, but we have yet to go to a beach. Space Florida or Space Hawaii?" The Doctor leaned on the controls, a button away from taking me to the beach.

"Sorry, Doctor. I grew up in California not too far from the beach and I rarely went. Sorry to say, I hate the beach." I smiled as the Doctor looked at me confused. I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "But let's go to Space Hawaii just so I can see what its like." The Doctor's face brightened and he pressed some buttons. Soon enough, we landed and I grabbed a jacket.

"You can't go out there like that!" The Doctor gestured to my jeans and long sleeved t-shirt. Not to mention the jacket I was putting on. "We're on Space Hawaii. You have to dress cooler than that. You'll melt." He gestured back to my room. I sighed and trekked back.

Looking through my clothes, I found some shorts and a tank top that could do alright in the heat. But I kept on my converse. Knowing the Doctor I would still have to run, even in Space Hawaii. I walked back to the control room and spun around.

"Is this better, Doctor?" I smiled as I stood in front of him. The Doctor seemed to approve of my outfit, so we headed towards the door.

As soon as we stepped outside, I sighed in exasperation. We weren't on a beach at all. We were in the middle of some forest. The Doctor backed up against the TARDIS, leaning on it.

"Well, this isn't right." The Doctor crossed his arms. I couldn't do anything but laugh at him. He looked back at the TARDIS and at the surrounding area.

"And you made me change into this." I gestured to the clothes I was wearing. I was cold just standing there. "I think that we should either leave, or I should change back to what I was wearing." I turned back to the TARDIS, burying my hands in my pockets for my key. The Doctor walked around the outside of the TARDIS, trying to figure something out.

"I think we should leave." I nodded as the Doctor was lost in thought. He gestured to the door of the TARDIS and I found the key and unlocked the door.

Before we could get inside, a group came running towards us. Immediately, they surrounded us, one grabbing the Doctor and one grabbing me and we were running. The TARDIS doors closed, but in the hustle, I had dropped my key.

And I had no idea who these people were. They just grabbed us and started to run. For some reason, though, I did not want to stop. I glanced back a couple times to see what was chasing us or why we were running, but all I could see was utter blackness. I could make out the faint outlines of the trees, but most everything was shadowed. When we finally reached a clearing, where the sun was shining through, the whole group slowed down and fanned out into a circle around us. The Doctor looked a bit peeved by the whole thing, but I still clung to him.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on here?" The Doctor looked at each member of the group. None of them responded. I, in turn, looked at each of them really for the first time. Most of them were humans. But the others weren't.

"Doctor?" I turned to him, questioning everything that was going on. He turned to me.

"They're Silurians, Rachel. This must be some sort of expedition group?" When one of the members nodded, the Doctor carried on. "And this question is important, Rachel, and I want you to give me an honest answer." I nodded and looked into the Doctor's eyes. "Are you afraid of the dark?"

For a second, I didn't know how to exactly answer his question. As a child I had been terrified of the dark. As I had grown up, I came to accept the dark as part of life. But as soon as I had moved out on my own into a new place and a new world I realized something. The darkness will always frighten me.

"It petrifies me." The Doctor grabbed me into a hug. And I felt it. The Doctor was really scared, not just for me, though. The Doctor was scared for everyone. I hugged him back. "Doctor," I tried to sound reassuring. "We're going to be alright. We'll make it back to the TARDIS and we can fly away and we'll just be fine." I smiled and pulled away from the hug and looked again at the people around me. "You said the aliens were called Silurians?"

One of them turned towards me. They looked a little offended by what I had said. She advanced towards me and I tried to stand my ground, trying to observe her more closely. Then something dawned on me.

"Wait, isn't there a period in history called the Silurian period. Like before there were humans, there were reptiles." I smiled. It had dawned on me. "Silurians. You're not aliens at all. You're from Earth before humans." I let out a chuckle as she tilted her head. "You must hate us." I smiled at her. "Geez, you guys look cool. Too bad we evolved." A small smile creeped onto her face.

"Kalara." She held out her hand for me to shake.

"Rachel." I smiled in return and took her hand. It was reptilian, which I was expecting, but nonetheless, it still gave me a bit of a shock to feel the texture on my hand.

"Not all apes are so horrid, I suppose." She took her hand away and turned to the rest of the group. She addressed them. "Did we lose anyone?" I looked around the circle, counting each member. There was the Doctor and I as well as Kalara's group of ten; four Silurians and six humans.

"There are two missing." The response came back and Kalara cursed under her breath. The Doctor began to inquire as to what was going on. I tuned out their conversation and scanned around the surrounding forest. There were brief moments when I could swear I saw the shadows get darker and move, but then I looked back and there was nothing unique. The darkness was just playing tricks on my eyes. The Doctor placed his hand on my shoulder. I turned to see an unmasked look of concern in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry to have brought you here." I was unsure why the Doctor was so scared for us. I mean, the Weeping Angels were bad and the Daleks were bad, but the Doctor handled them. The Doctor always said that the monsters were afraid of him. It was how the universe worked. "There are things here that are going to try to kill us and they might succeed."

I backed away from the Doctor, not really understanding what he was saying. I knew, though, that I couldn't question the Doctor. The look in his eyes made me understand. He had seen whatever was after us before and something terrible had happened.

"Doctor, what's going to try and kill us?" The Doctor took my hand in his and pulled me away from the outer circle. Everyone, other than the two of us, were strapped with weapons, at least the Silurians were.

"I think telling you would be worse than keeping you in the dark." I looked away and sighed. I didn't want to be ignorant about this whole thing. "But I will tell you this; I can't fight them, River can't fight them, no one can fight them. When you know they're there, you just run." Kalara walked over to us again.

"The daylight is dimming and the shadows are taking over this clearing, we are preparing to run again so that we can make it to my ship and get out of here." She held out her hand towards me. I looked down at her hand and then back at her. "The Doctor can handle himself. I'm making you my responsibility." She reached out and grabbed my hand.

"I'm sure the Doctor can take care of me." I looked down at her hand holding mine. "Besides, I can take care of myself." She glanced back at me and laughed.

"You don't realize what we're running from." She gripped my hand tighter and she called to everyone else. "Is everyone ready?" I saw everyone around the circle nod. I even saw the Doctor glance at me and nod reassuringly. I sighed and braced myself.

Then we were off running and I felt as though I should have trained for a marathon. We didn't stop and Kalara made sure I kept up and that we were in the middle of the pack. The Doctor was right next to me the entire way.

We stopped again when we could see the sunlight. But there were more people missing. But we kept running and running and only stopping in the light. The shadows kept following us. Sometimes they got closer and we couldn't stop except to take a breath. Other stops we had time to take a head count and realize that some around the edges were gone. And I had the sneaking suspicion we were lost amidst all these trees.

"At this rate, we shall all be gone before my ship comes into sight." I sighed and sank to the floor, there were only four of us left; me, Kalara, the Doctor, and some other human. But as Kalara spoke, I could tell she was ready to give up.

"We're lost." I turned to the Doctor. My state of mind was the same as Kalara's. I was ready to give up. I didn't want to carry on running. In fact, I was pretty sure I couldn't. The Doctor looked over at me.

"You know we can't just give up. We have to keep pushing forward." The Doctor pulled out a flashlight from the pocket of the only other human left. Kalara pulled out hers.

"Alright, we must move then before it turns dark and we are all taken." I looked at each of us. The Doctor took my hand, as did Kalara. I turned back to the human, a man, and smiled at him. It was something that I felt he needed.

I blinked and in that instant, there was no longer a person standing there. There were only bones falling to the ground. A scream ripped its way out of my lips before I could stop it. The Doctor grabbed me and pulled me along. My hand was still gripping Kalara's, but it was as though they were dragging me along. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the spot where the man was just standing. I had just smiled at him and then he was a pile of bones.

"Run, Rachel, Run!" The Doctor pulled me along. I snapped my head away and really started to run. The Doctor turned back to Kalara. "Keep up with us Kalara." They both clicked on their flashlights as we kept running. It seemed to make the shadows disperse if only for the amount of time they were pointed at the shadows. When they started to flicker, I almost cried, but we kept moving. I just hoped we could get back to the TARDIS. I'm sure that was where the Doctor was leading us.

With the flashlights flickering, the darkness kept getting closer and closer. I wanted to know how that man was flesh and bone one second and just bone the next. Yet, I knew the Doctor wouldn't answer any questions I had. So we just kept running. This time there was no stopping because there was no sunlight or break in the shadows around us, except for the flashlight ray that kept us moving forward.

Eventually, I saw the outline. In the distance, there was a vague outline of the TARDIS. I smiled and kept running. It was like there was a burst of energy and the three of us ran the last leg of our journey faster than ever.

We were right in front of the TARDIS. The Doctor snapped and the door was open, but I realized I still needed my key. It had fallen. I was sure it was right in front. I slowed and bent to pick it up.

"Rachel, just leave it." I shook my head. It would only take a second in order to pick up the key. I saw the glint a little off to the left. I ran to grab it and by the time I got to pick it up, all around me, there was darkness. It was like they were circling around me. "Rachel, where are you? Rachel Foster!" I could hear the Doctor through the darkness, but I couldn't see him. I couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from. Then I heard Kalara.

"Hold on, the Doctor is going to try to help. He's getting something from inside." Apparently, the darkness was only concerned with me. It was playing with me. It started to close in on me from one side. I tried to scoot away from it, but the circle around me was small. I knew that in seconds I would end just like that man, I would be a pile of bones.

"If the Doctor is going to do something, could he please do it now?" I tried to stay calm as the darkness kept getting closer.

A sudden brightness blinded me, but also caused all the darkness to retreat. I smiled. So the Doctor had found a way to at least fight the darkness, at least for a bit. I ran towards the light. Kalara and the Doctor grabbed me and we were in the TARDIS.

The Doctor jumped up and made sure we were getting far away from the forest. I fell to the floor, exhausted. I didn't even try to get away from the door or try to do anything, except lie on the floor greedily gulping air into my lungs.

Tomorrow I would be sore and I probably would sleep for most of the day. But the engine sounds were a little bit of a comfort. Seeing as how I almost got devoured by shadows, I was happy to be alive.

"Space Hawaii. And this time, I'm sure we're there." The Doctor walked over and stood over me. "Are you coming, Rachel Foster?" I smiled and though it was hard, I took the hand he offered me and got up. My legs were wobbly and I could hardly stand, but the Doctor supported me as we walked out onto a bright, sunny tropical beach. The light was all I needed and I knew that I would like beaches a lot more now, for some reason.

"This sun is just what the doctor ordered." Kalara smiled and threw out a blanket. The Doctor chuckled, pulled out a chair and let me sit down. The Doctor walked back into the TARDIS as Kalara basked in the sun and I observed the constant waves of the impossibly blue ocean.

"We're going to have a proper picnic today." The Doctor emerged from the TARDIS with a picnic basket and a larger blanket. I looked at him and had to laugh. He was wearing his button up shirt, suspenders and bowtie, but his jacket was gone. The silliest part of his outfit was his pants, or rather, the shorts he was wearing.

"Sometimes, Doctor, you style just reminds me how alien you really are." The Doctor smiled and spread out the blanket.

The day passed as we relaxed at the beach. There was no one there and we could just joke around and have a fun time. The meal the Doctor provided as a picnic lunch was edible. He had made sandwiches and there was fruit, some of it alien, and plenty of water. The Doctor made us drink plenty of water. Kalara was content just bathing in the sun, but the Doctor made me jump into the waves with him. Of course, we were fully soaked and in our regular clothes.

I was perfectly content with our day at the beach. I smiled and we laughed. When it got dark, we got back in the TARDIS and flew away. Kalara asked to be dropped off somewhere. I didn't really know where we left her. She told us to call her should we need any help. But she bid us goodbye and it was just me and the Doctor in the TARDIS again.

The Doctor was in the control room, taking us somewhere new and exciting. He asked me for suggestions.

"Somewhere bright and sunny and nowhere near any type of forest," I replied, smile on my face. I had seen too many forests, each with its own danger, and I didn't want to go anywhere near one for a while.

"Bright and sunny it is." The Doctor turned back to the controls. I smiled and let out a yawn. The Doctor turned to me. "You had better get to sleep." I walked back to my room. But I couldn't sleep. I kept my lights on bright and sat up writing until the Doctor came into my room. "You can't sleep." It wasn't a question, just a statement of fact.

"I can't bring myself to turn off the lights." I played with my pen in my hands. The Doctor came over and sat across from me on my bed. "Every time I close my eyes, I just see shadows chasing me. I can't-"

"Rachel," The Doctor took my hands in his. "The things in the forest. They're called Vashta Nerada. There were thousands of them, but we got away. They only live in forests and in this one library. There aren't any in your room." I nodded. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, I guess I will be." I tried to smile. The Doctor looked into my eyes. He stood and smiled down at me.

"Alright." The Doctor grabbed a pillow from behind me and grabbed a couple blankets from the base of my bed. I looked at the Doctor questioningly. He seemed to remember something and grabbed a cheetah stuffed animal from atop the dresser in my room. "Come on then." With the pile of pillows and such in his arms, I followed the Doctor out of my room and back to the control room. "I know that there's a room in the TARDIS somewhere where there are pillow forts, but I think that building them is the fun part." The Doctor dropped all the pillows and blankets on the ground and started to build. He smiled the whole time and I helped him.

As soon as it was built, spanning around my chair and the console, we crawled inside. I grabbed my stuffed animal and we sat there, the whole time talking and laughing. The Doctor got me to take my mind off the shadows and the Vashta Nerada and eventually, I got tired and felt myself drifting off to sleep.

"It's alright." The Doctor smiled at me. "I won't let anything harm you. You'll be fine. I'll be right here while you sleep." I lay down and clutched my stuffed cheetah to my chest. I hadn't slept with the stuffed toy for such a long time. It was the last reminder of my home that I had. I had left everything else back in California when I moved to London. It was something that always gave me comfort. I felt safe with it in my arms and I felt safe with the Doctor sitting next to me, occasionally pressing some buttons. It was easy to sleep with the both of them near.

I fell asleep as the Doctor brushed some stray hairs from my face. When I woke up, the Doctor was in the same place, snoring softly. I smiled and yawned, too sore and tired to care much about the shadows or the darkness. The Doctor would always protect me, from anything. And I fell back asleep, dreaming of my reliable teddy bear, the Doctor, who was right by my side.


	8. Diadem

I've always wanted to be a princess; since watching my first Disney movie. I wanted to be like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. For the longest time, I was convinced I was a princess. Not even my parents could convince me otherwise. They said I wasn't a princess; that maybe one day I would grow up to meet my prince charming. I didn't listen to them, until I grew up and realized that I was no princess and never would be.

Then I stumbled into my prince charming, but really he wasn't a prince and the relationship was completely platonic; he was already married. So really you could say I stumbled upon a lord, a Time Lord. Yes, I'm talking about the Doctor. As many times as he tries to tell me that I was special before I met him, I'll stay convinced until the day I die that traveling with him is the most special thing I've done.

I smiled as we hopped from one little shop and booth to the next. We were in some sort of bazaar. I was trying to find some sort of jewelry to buy. I didn't want to buy anything too gaudy, but I tried to find some sort of trinket.

"How about this, Rachel?" The Doctor held some earrings up to his ears and turned towards me. I laughed at how ridiculous he looked.

"No, Doctor, I think they're more your style." I smiled and grabbed a hat that was nearby. "Perhaps paired with this?" I chuckled as the Doctor grabbed the hat and secured it on his head.

"I've needed a fez." He smiled and paid the credit for the hat. He grabbed it and we kept walking around the shops. There were different fortune tellers and every shop owner tried to get us to come and buy things from their shops.

We walked past them. The Doctor and I were just having a fun time, hanging around. I got a few ear cuffs and some simple earrings. We kept walking.

"Doctor, I'm getting hungry. We should get some food. Perhaps one of these kiosks will have some food we can buy." My stomach gave a slight growl to emphasize my statement. The Doctor laughed at me as I clutched my stomach. "It's not funny, Doctor. You might be some Time Lord who feeds off the energy of the universe, but I need food."

We were making our way to find some food for me, smiling and laughing the whole way, when an alien woman ran straight into me. She pushed something into my hand and kept running in the same direction. I kept my hands in my blazer as she ran past and a bulky man with tattoos up and down his arms ran after her. I only glimpsed at him, though, because I was turned towards the Doctor.

"What is this?" As soon as they both passed, I brought out my hands. In them, there was a brilliant and beautiful tiara. I was too shocked to say anything else. This was a crown.

"It seems as though someone trusts you with that diadem." I buried it back into my jacket. There was no way that I was going to get it stolen from me. The Doctor and I walked around to some uninhabited alleyway where I brought out the crown again.

"These gems, Doctor, they must be very expensive. Perhaps she stole it." I brought it up to some light to see it glitter. I smiled and part of me wanted to keep it, but if it was stolen, then it had to be returned.

"Oh, Rachel, that crown wasn't stolen. No, you were given that tiara by the crown princess." The Doctor took the diadem from my hands. I looked over his shoulder as he examined it. "Yes, this is the real thing." He laughed, but then sobered up. "Well, I wonder who it was she was running from." He looked back to the busy part of the street. "Very strange." I turned to look where the Doctor was looking. A shadow fell across my face. I turned around to see a group of very tall men standing behind me. "Well, Rachel Foster, let's see if we can't find the runaway princess."

Though I heard him, I couldn't respond. There was a hand placed firmly over my mouth and nose. I could hardly breathe and my vision started to go hazy. But I was quickly carried away from the Doctor down a maze of alleyways and backstreets. Before I could really see where I was going, I blacked out.

When I awoke again, I was in a large bed with silk sheets. The room I occupied was huge and there were pillows everywhere and draped fabrics. I stood and walked out onto the balcony of the room. There was a nice view of the scenery. I could see the bazaar and all the people bustling about. I knew I was in the palace at the top of the hill. Anyone on the planet could see the palace. My question was why I was there; why the men had taken me to bring me here.

My questions didn't go unanswered for long. A woman in a flowing gown walked into the room. I turned to her and her stride broke. She continued to walk forward, more quickly before coming to stand before me. She grabbed my face in her hands. She was alien, but if you just glanced, you could probably mistake her for human. The only difference between her and me were the spikes on her forehead and cheeks. She turned my face one way and then the other.

"Who are you?" Her voice screeched out of her lips and I tried to back away from her. Her grip on my face tightened and I tasted blood in my mouth. I didn't want to bite my cheeks, but her vice-like grip was making it hard to stop my teeth. I couldn't speak with her hands on my face. I think she realized as she released my cheeks and grabbed my upper arm. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"I was brought here. A couple of goons captured me and brought me here. I blacked out and just now woke up." I tried backing away from her, but she just kept me in my place. "My name is Rachel and I've been travelling with my friend. We were just here to shop around." I glanced around the room. There were pictures of a girl who looked like the woman before me, but she also looked just like me, only with spikes on her face. I stopped struggling with her grip and just stared at the paintings.

"If you are not the crown princess, then why did you have the sacred diadem?" I looked at her in shock.

"A girl ran past me and shoved it into my hands. My friend has it now. He's trying to find the princess." I couldn't take my eyes away from the portraits. The woman came and stood next to me.

"Have you ever wanted to be a princess?" I smiled slightly to myself. I nodded and the woman smiled down at me, though her smile was one like a carnivorous beast about to strike. I began to back away from her. I didn't like the look in her eyes. "Perfect. If she refuses, you will do." She grabbed my arm and started dragging me to a door to the side of the bed.

"Let me go," I struggled in her grasp, but she was incredibly strong. She threw me in a chair in front of a vanity and summoned countless individuals. They started poking and prodding my hair and face and I saw a few grab dresses and outfits from an adjacent room.

"She'll need to have her horns put on. Just use makeup. We don't have time for surgery." The woman was barking out orders to the people as they pulled me and pushed me in every direction. "Don't forget to accentuate her eyes and pull her hair away from her face. Make her look romantic." The woman walked out of the room and the servants started to really get into their work. "Don't forget that her hair should fade to white."

I looked around at all the people messing with my appearance. I began to drift off into my own thoughts.

_Every little girl wishes at one point to be a princess. Every girl believes she is special and that some day she will be romanced off her feet by some noble prince. The girl stopped believing in her fairytale ending long ago. She was content to travel with the Doctor and live her life that way. _

_However, one day, the girl was taken; mistaken for the princess of an alien planet. She was taken to the palace where she was transformed to be the princess. She had no say in the matter and she didn't know what the kingdom wanted from her. She knew it wouldn't be good. _

_And all she wanted was to be a regular girl again._

They stuck synthetic horns on my face and made them blend in with my skin. They pulled my hair and scrubbed some sort of dye into the ends. By the time it was over, I looked just like the portraits in the next room. I didn't think I was looking in a mirror.

I touched my face. But as soon as they were done with my makeup and hair, I was whisked away in order to be dressed. They wrapped me in elegant clothes and touched up anything that was put askew by their dressing me. The color of the material they clothed me in was the deepest purple I had ever seen. The clothes fit me perfectly, another detail that put me on edge. I turned to one of the people dabbing paint onto my face around the horns.

"Why am I being subjected to this?" The woman looked at me and met my eyes. Her gaze glanced away as though she couldn't keep eye contact with me.

"The princess is to be married to the Prince of Clodigar. It is a marriage to end the war between our nations. The queen was upset at having to sacrifice her only daughter, but with you here there will be a great ceremony." One word stuck out to me more than the others.

"Sacrificed?" The word stuck on my tongue like sand. "When is the ceremony and why did you call it a sacrifice?" The woman chuckled as she answered me.

"Oh, the ceremony is in a few hours. And it is called a sacrifice because of the wedding night." She was barely containing her laughter as she continued on informing me about the whole ordeal. "The wedding night with a Clodigarian is said to be incredibly vulgar and brutal. To think our poor princess would have to suffer through that." She smiled at me. "It is so fortunate that you arrived when you did."

"Vulgar and brutal?" I stared at my face in the mirror. So I was to be married to an alien I didn't know, posing as some princess. And then my wedding night would be vulgar and brutal.

"Yes, they say that the men of the Clodigarian race consummate the marriage by ripping the head off of their mate and devouring it. The body is saved in a mucus sack and when the male comes to term with the offspring from eating the head, the young burst from the male's belly to devour the remainder of the female's body." I felt sick; completely and utterly sick.

There was no way that I was going to marry some alien prince who would devour my head. I liked my head exactly where it was, on my shoulders. I didn't want to die. Especially like that. I tried to think of ways I could escape. There weren't any opportunities to get away. The goons that had brought me here flanked my sides at all times. When I tried to escape by using the restroom, not my best plan, two strong female guards accompanied me.

I was told by the woman who decided I should pose as the princess, the queen, that the ceremony would take place at the planet's sunset. When I asked her to elaborate on the time, she told me that I had a fewhours before I was to be wed to the Clodigarian prince. I spent the time on the balcony, watched closely by three body guards. There was no way to overpower them and to jump from the balcony would mean certain death.

Eventually, I couldn't be cooped up in the room any longer. I decided that a walk around the castle would make me less stir crazy. The body guards took me through the luxurious palace and I couldn't help but gape in awe at all the beautiful details.

Eventually, we arrived in the gardens, where I could roam through exotic flowers and other plants. There was no way to get out, as there were very high walls. So instead, I decided to relax in all the beauty around me. I leaned down to smell a particularly beautiful flower when I was accosted by a very strange person. They grabbed my hands and dragged me away. I looked to see what looked like a prince standing in front of me. I didn't say anything.

"Have you spoken to the queen? Have you told her that by marrying me instead of the Clodigarian prince, you can create a stronger alliance?" I smiled at him, but tried to back away from him and release my hands from his grasp. "What is wrong with you?" He pulled me closer. I felt uncomfortable, but figured that if I could escape this way it would be better than a deadly wedding night.

"I was just about to. If you let me go, I will tell her straight away. I've just been so busy." I smiled and walked away. He bowed and let me go. I turned back before entering the palace. I made sure to find the queen straight away.

"There is no way." I tried to explain that there was someone else to marry, but the queen wouldn't listen to me. "This way we can have the best of both. You will marry the Clodigarian prince and my daughter will marry whoever it is you're speaking about. It will all work grandly." I sighed.

"You realize there was someone chasing after her that wasn't one of your goons and your daughter will most likely never return here again." The queen's face turned to ash.

"I still will not back out on a planned marriage. This will end our war." I slammed my hands on the table and stood. The queen was infuriating and there was no way that I would die so that her nation could achieve peace. If she had asked nicely, I might, but there was no way I would be forced to do it.

"This marriage will make for a better alliance and if the princess hears of it, she might come back with the exception that she won't be forced to marry the Clodigarian prince. No one wants that." The queen stood and walked over to me. I turned to her, determination in my eyes.

"Then the marriage will change to make a stronger alliance." Her eyes had ice in them and I was frozen to the spot. "Either way, there will be a marriage today. You are lucky that the Clodigarians have yet to arrive at the palace." I walked out of the room. Really, I didn't want to marry either prince, but I figured the one who was so obviously in love with the princess would be better than the other option.

I made my way back to the room and fell onto the bed. This whole thing was much more exhausting than I thought a nice stop at a bazaar would be. I wondered where the Doctor was and what he was up to. Probably looking for me and the princess all at the same time.

The next time I opened my eyes, I was being escorted out of the room and into a large cathedral-like chapel. The queen placed a tiara on my head.

"It is a fake, but so are you. There will be little consequence to this." She dragged me into position and told me some instructions. I was just to walk down the aisle and pay attention to the words of the officiator. I nodded and was thrown, practically, through the doors and I stumbled down the aisle. I'm sure I looked pretty graceful, but that was not how I felt.

I really felt awkward and uncomfortable. I didn't want to get married. I just wanted to travel with the Doctor. I guess I always did want to be a princess. I was getting my wish, but there was no way I was happy about it. When I finally made it down the long aisle, I noticed that the same alien from the garden was standing, waiting for me at the end of the aisle. I was happy that the only alien aspect on his body was a tail hanging out from under his royal cape.

The officiator started to speak and I paid close attention. It was really like a wedding ceremony I had visited for my cousin, but not entirely the same. Eventually we got to the part that was the most important to me.

"Speak now, or forever hold your peace." I waited for the Doctor to burst through the doors, the real princess at his side. They would be carrying the tiara and would stop the wedding. I wouldn't be married to anyone and the princess would marry the man she seemed to love and I would be free to leave. I would go off with the Doctor and we would adventure and explore as much of time and space as we could. "Then the ceremony is complete. I pronounce you the majesties of two nations. May your young be plentiful and your rule be just. You may kiss your princess." The prince before me leaned in and pecked my lips. I pulled away and stepped back.

"Wait, this can't be happening. I thought-" My sentence was cut short. The doors burst open and the Doctor waltzed in.

"I object!" His hand held the hand of the princess. She stood by his side and looked at the officiator and the prince next to me. I ran up to him.

"Doctor, you're too late." The Doctor pulled me into a hug. For some reason, tears welled in my eyes. I looked at the princess. She was crying as well. I tried to say I was sorry, but I couldn't speak before someone else did.

"Step away from my wife." The prince advanced with his sword drawn. Obviously, he did not notice his true love standing just behind the Doctor. "I will gut you, sir." I turned around to see the prince had his sword pointed straight at my middle.

"I don't want to be your wife," I cried as I turned to him. "I'm not your princess, she is." I pulled the princess up next to me. I pulled the horns from my face. "I'm so sorry." I took the tiara off my head and broke it. Everyone in the room gasped.

"What have you done?" The officiator ran and grabbed the pieces from my hands. I let him have them.

"It's a fake. The queen placed it on my head before I entered to walk down the aisle." I sat down on the floor. The dress pooled around me. I started to undo my hair and I found a kerchief I could use to wipe away my makeup. The Doctor started to laugh first.

"Rachel Foster," The Doctor made me stand up. "You realize you need to study up on alien culture more. If the sacred diadem is fake, the marriage is as well." I looked at the Doctor, too tired to fully understand what he was saying. "You're not married, Rachel." I sighed. The Doctor probably had no idea how happy it made me to know I wasn't married.

Another marriage, a real one, took place that day. The prince married the princess and the Clodigarian people were so scared of the alliance, they fled. It was a happy day. The Doctor had apparently realized I was missing as soon as I was gone. He went after me only to run into the princess. She was being chased by a head hunter who wanted her dead. Really, he was a radical who didn't want the Clodigarian War to end. They defeated him and ended up being just moments late to the wedding. It had spread around town quickly that the wedding had changed grooms. They had rushed in and that was where I was caught up.

As the Doctor danced with everyone at the wedding reception, I sat out and watched. The princess came over to me.

"Thanks for all your help. I know you were forced into this, but I realize how stubborn my mother can be on political matters. I don't know how I could ever repay you." She really was a sweet person and I was sure she would make a great queen someday.

Eventually, the Doctor realized that I still hadn't danced with him. He walked over like a guilty toddler, holding his hands out. I sighed and grabbed his hands. He led me out to the dance floor. There was an upbeat song playing, but as soon as we walked onto the dance floor, a slower song started up.

"I'm not such a good dancer, you know." The Doctor laughed and we danced together. I tried not to step on his feet, but there was once or twice that I couldn't help myself. I cringed and apologized each time I accidentally stepped on his toes.

At the end of the night, the Doctor and I slipped away. But we were stopped briefly by the new couple.

"You two are welcome back here any time. You are both heroes and will be considered royalty in our nation. You will be known as the prince and princess." We thanked them for their hospitality and the great honor they bestowed on us and left. They returned into the palace as the Doctor and I flew away in the TARDIS.

It was a quiet flight and the Doctor seemed happy and peppy. I sat in my chair. I wasn't tired enough to sleep and, lately, I just slept in the control room anyway. The Doctor switched on some music and we danced together. The music was upbeat, so really I just flailed around. It was nice to know that the Doctor danced as well as I did. We laughed all into the night.

"I'm not under some spell where I'm going to sleep for one hundred years, right? I mean I am royalty now." The Doctor smiled at me and walked away, allowing me to sleep. I dreamt of balls and crowns and fancy dresses. After all, I was a princess now, and I didn't even need to marry a prince.


	9. Daisy

It was lonely on the TARDIS at times. When the Doctor was off with River Song, he would leave me at some planet or other that was perfectly safe and then they would fly off to have some romantic adventure. I mean, I didn't want to complain and I agreed to it. Sometimes I went with them and we just separated when we got to the destination, but sometimes I preferred not to go because they were at romantic getaways. And that sucked when you were alone. Sometimes I even stayed in the TARDIS in some forgotten room away from everything else.

Like I said, I didn't want to complain, but still, sometimes I got lonely, no matter how much I liked being on my own.

"Darling, you must tell me exactly where you get your clothes." I smiled over at River. We had just picked her up from wherever she was. She and the Doctor were going on a date.

"As always, River, your hair is marvelously amazing." I returned to playing with my outfit. I was trying to figure out which bag to take with the jeans and top I was wearing. The Doctor and River were just chatting with each other.

"What shall we do with our lovely child while we're away, sweetie?" River was following the Doctor around the console and correcting his mistakes as he flew the TARDIS. She smiled as we stopped. I grabbed a backpack, shrugging it over my shoulders.

"I'm not a child, River." I stuck my tongue out at her, even though I knew she was kidding. I smiled and she kissed the top of my head. River had been a friend to me, but part of our relationship was certainly maternal in nature. Though, the Doctor was too goofy to ever be a father figure. So no one would call us a family. But we sure felt like one.

"Oh," The Doctor smiled as we walked to the door. "I've gotten our dear Rachel a sitter." I tilted my head in confusion. He walked out the door and I made sure I had my TARDIS key in my pocket. The Doctor and River walked in front of me. When they stopped, I nearly ran into them. I was too busy concentrating on my feet and their shoes to notice the person in front of us. "And here he is." I looked up from the floor.

"Seriously, Doctor? You think that I want to spend a day with him?" I gestured to the familiar man in front of me. "Last time we met, he was rude and conceited and-"

"You couldn't stop talking about him for weeks." River finished my sentence. "My, my sweetie, you must tell me how you pulled this off." She looped her arm in the Doctor's. I rolled my eyes.

"Hello, Dorian." The Doctor spoke and Dorian turned around towards us, but he was confused. "Don't tell me you don't remember us." The Doctor pulled me forward. I looked into Dorian's eyes. He was genuinely unaware of who we were. I smiled. "Well, obviously you don't know us." The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, meet my friend Rachel, she thinks you're all cool and stuff." The Doctor pushed me forward.

I turned to glare at the Doctor, but River had already whisked him away for their romantic day. Dorian tapped me on my shoulder and I slowly turned back towards him.

"Umm, are you the Rachel in this note?" Dorian handed me a crumpled up paper. I immediately recognized the Doctor's handwriting. I sighed and read the note. The Doctor pretty much just invited Dorian to spend the day with me and gave him a time and coordinates. "I don't know any Doctor, so I was hoping that if I came, someone could explain it to me." I looked up and smiled at Dorian. It was obvious in his eyes; he was a lot younger than when I met him in Camelot.

"Right, well, I'm Rachel. Rachel Clover. And this is going to be a little complicated to explain." I looked down at my shoes. "Better just leave it. Maybe one day I'll see you again." I started to walk away, but he grabbed my arm. I looked up at him. His eyes were so young and I couldn't get over it.

"Just because I haven't met you yet; it doesn't mean you have to leave." He smiled down at me. I tilted my head, looking up at his face. I didn't have anything else to do, so I decided to comply. I nodded and Dorian and I started to walk, to no specific destination, together. I certainly didn't know where I was walking.

"Where are we anyway?" I looked over at Dorian, who looked just as lost as I was. He smiled down at me and shrugged. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips. He looked around for a second, scanning over the heads of the crowd.

"That looks promising." He pointed in the direction of some lights that flashed even in the daylight. It was a midway full of people riding the Ferris wheel and playing midway games. I agreed and we walked over.

"Get your tickets! Tickets for the Midway! Only four credits! Hurry before they sell out!" The man with a handlebar mustache, straw boater hat and cane was shouting at the crowd as the people passed him. We walked up to him. And I realized, as I rifled around in my backpack that I had forgotten my credits on the TARDIS.

"Dorian, I have to go back, my credits are in my friend's ship." I pulled away from his arm, but he grabbed my hand.

"Don't worry about it. You can pay me back later." He handed his credits to the man and grabbed my hand. The man took out a gun needle thing and took our hands. There was a slight sting as he shot our hands with the ticket.

"Your ticket will last for 24 hours. You may leave and re-enter the park as many times as you like. No outside food or drink. The Midway is not responsible for any injury or illness you may or may not experience as the effect of you time spent here. Enjoy your time at the Midway." The man's voice was monotone and bland, as if he hated his job, but the next second he was calling others to get tickets as well. I looked at Dorian and we both started laughing.

We walked over the line into the midway and through the veil that separated the midway from the rest of the area. As soon as we were through, it was as though the world instantly transitioned to the night. The sky darkened and the lights sparkled.

"You know, this is almost like the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and 59128." He smiled down at me. "I've been to both. They were amazing, I'm sure we'll enjoy this." I almost didn't hear anything that he said. I was too amazed by the lights and the music playing was just so magnificent. I could barely focus on anything else. My head started to get a little woozy. "Whoa," Dorian's arms reached out and grabbed my waist. "I think the super florescent colored bulbs have given you a little bit of vertigo. Let's go sit down."

"Yeah, pretty lights." I closed my eyes a bit and leaned on Dorian. We sat down on a bench and I placed my head on my lap. "Wow, I am never doing drugs if they're anything like this." I smiled up at Dorian. "I guess it's a bit of a culture shock or something, but it's very overwhelming." I looked back at the lights, more adjusted to them.

"Looks like you're better now." Dorian stood up and grabbed my waist as if to help me keep upright. It was a little strange to have his hand resting there, but it also felt oddly comfortable.

We walked down the midway, looking at what the place had to offer. There were arcade games and small rides. There were also pavilions and mini boutiques and shops. But the main attraction everyone was heading to ride was an incredibly large Ferris wheel. I looked up at the wheel and it strained my neck.

Dorian gestured to the wheel, I nodded and we got in line. It moved quickly because each car held about 20 people. Dorian and I boarded and were pushed to the side. The whole car was like a large glass bubble; see-through with no sturdy floor, just glass and seemingly empty space.

I hadn't realized it when we entered, but as soon as I did, my heart jumped to my throat. My eyes grew three times their size and my hands started to shake. I turned towards the closing door, but it was already shut and the bubble had started moving upwards. I tried to look through the glass in front of me and ignore the emptiness below, but all I saw was the distance between the ground and my feet. Being extremely scared of heights, coupled with the fact that I could see everything around, I silently freaked out.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dorian glance at me, but I couldn't really look back. I was frozen in fear. Before I understood what was happening, his arm was around my waist and his other hand was grasping one of mine and his head was near mine.

"I'm sorry that this is so forward, but I think you need this. Remember, I won't let you fall." He pulled his head away and I closed my eyes. We went around the wheel once and then the unloading started, which left us at the top of the wheel for a few minutes. Dorian squeezed my hand and slightly bumped me to get my attention. "Just look out for a moment."

My eyes peeked open for a second, but then stayed open a minute longer. Out in the distance, there was a huge field speckled with patches of white. A small smile flashed across my face before my eyes snapped shut again as the wheel lurched to life and we moved.

As soon as we got off the wheel, Dorian's arm was off my waist, but his hand still grasped mine. A crowd had formed as we walked away from the wheel. I guessed he didn't want to lose me in the mass of people. Still my cheeks were blushing a furious red.

We walked around for another hour or so, but eventually we had seen everything that we wanted and decided to adventure and find the field with the white flowers.

A breeze was blowing and the sun was still in the sky as we found our way through the midway and out the exit, into the sunlight and into the field. It wasn't that far off. It felt peaceful and serene and like it was picked out of a fairytale. I sat down on a patch of grass and pulled one of the daisies out of the ground.

"So, how did you, you know, come here?" I placed the daisy behind my ear and looked over at Dorian who was sitting a few feet away from me. Dorian was ripping up some grass and watching as it flew away in the breeze.

"Well I got the note with your name, the coordinates and the time. I just arrived when you and your friends found me." He smiled over at me. I looked back at him.

"But how? You're not some sort of Time Lord. How did you get here? Is it because of that leather bracelet? The vortex manipulator or something?" I gestured to his arm. Dorian looked at his wrist where the manipulator was resting.

"Yeah, I'm borrowing it from a friend, well permanently. How did you know it was a vortex manipulator? Not many people know one on sight." He was looking at me and I could see all the questions in his eyes.

"I've just seen one before is all." There was an awkward silence between us with the breeze blowing by.

"How do you know who I am?" Dorian broke the silence. He stood and walked the two steps closer to me before sitting down.

"Well that's going to be a sort of complicated answer." I smiled over at him. "I mean timelines and all that junk. And you seem like a nice enough guy. I think when I first met you, I don't know. You were having a bad week or something." I smiled and he smiled back at me. "I can tell you that you were older when I met you. I mean, I think I can tell." He chuckled. He was still looking at me expectantly.

"Well, I hope I wasn't too bad." He leaned back on his hands. I chewed the inside of my lip, wondering if I should say anything. Apparently he noticed. "Was I incredibly rude to you?"

"Not incredibly. You just said some abrasive things and you weren't very gentle as you dragged me through the forest." There was a confused look on his face. "We were in Camelot and you saved me from a dragon, then I saved you from that same dragon." I hoped I wasn't telling him too much. I didn't want to rip the space time continuum in half or anything. "But you had your moments of being a gentleman and you helped me find the Doctor, my friend."

"Well I hope I can redeem myself either way." He grabbed the daisy from behind my ear and placed it behind his. He then plucked a new daisy from the grass and placed it in my hair. I laughed at what he did; not completely understanding it. He smiled over at me.

"So, how does a vortex manipulator work exactly?" I picked up the wrist it was on and looked at the buttons. "Do you just type in where you want to go or something?" I could feel Dorian's eyes staring at me as I looked at his wrist.

"Sort of. It pretty much compresses all time and space so you just sort of pop from one time and place to another." He took away his wrist. "Do you want to try it?" I shook my head.

"No, I travel enough through time and space. I mean, I travel with the Doctor in the TARDIS. Plus I have to stay around here so that he can find me when he's ready to leave." I smiled as Dorian nodded his head in understanding.

"Maybe some other time." He smiled at me.

"If there is another time, you've got it." I stopped smiling as the smile from his face dropped. "I mean, I would love to see you again, but the Doctor and I are everywhere. We go from one place to another so quickly." Dorian grabbed my chin in his hand and tilted my face towards his.

"Then I'll just go searching for you." I couldn't stop my cheeks from blushing bright red as he kept his eyes on mine. I had to drop my gaze for fear of intense embarrassment. "I'd be crazy if now and Camelot were the only times I saw you. You're so interesting, I feel this inexplicable need to know you; everything about you." He tilted my head so our eyes met and I smiled, hoping my cheeks weren't completely as red as I imagined they were. He smiled back at me.

Somehow, he had only just met me, but still, he wanted to know everything about me. It didn't make sense in my mind. And yet he was leaning towards me and I was completely comfortable with the idea of him kissing me. But I wasn't at the same time. I pulled my head back and redirected my lips to his cheek.

"I want to get to know you as well; which is why I'm not going to kiss you right now." I smiled and stood up. "Now, you might see me in the future or you might not." I started to walk away. I heard him stand up and walk in my direction. He grabbed my hand and it felt right. "Either way, I want this day to end happy. A kiss isn't needed for that."

"No," He squeezed my hand. "A kiss isn't needed for that." He smiled down at me as we stopped walking. "But, you know my name. I was born in the 51st century on a faraway planet to my mother and father. My whole family is human except that one weird uncle." He chuckled a bit. "There was an alien invasion and I became an orphan. Everything after that is mostly unimportant. I acquired a vortex manipulator and really have been travelling around ever since." He looked down at me. "Is there anything else you would like to know?"

I stood silent, trying to think of other questions to ask. Standing with Dorian in that field felt incredibly serene, but invigorating at the same time. The breeze was blowing and the sun was shining. There were a ton of other things I wanted to know about him. What were his parents like? What was his favorite color, animal, author? Did he have any friends? What were they like? What happened to him right after he had become an orphan? How old was he when his family died? Where was he going to go after I left today?

But I didn't ask. I didn't want to disrupt the serene quiet of the field. Really, I wanted it to go on forever. I was happy where I was right now. Just standing, not running or fighting. Then the thought of the Doctor popped into my head.

The TARDIS engines sounded and it appeared a few yards before us. I let go of Dorian's hand. It was as if the Doctor had read my mind. I smiled at the big blue police telephone box in front of me. The door opened and the Doctor popped his head out.

"Are you ready to go, Rachel?" I smiled and nodded. The Doctor disappeared back into the box. I walked forward, away from Dorian.

"Before I go, Dorian, I just have one more question." Dorian smiled at me as he walked towards the TARDIS and I kept backing away from him. "What's your last name? I never found that out." I felt the TARDIS door behind me. I opened it and stepped one foot inside.

"My last name is-" Before he could say, River had pulled me inside and closed the door. I looked back at her. She just shrugged.

"What? It isn't safe for you to be half outside the TARDIS as it takes off. Trust me, I've seen some things." River smiled and went to her usual task of helping the Doctor fly the TARDIS. I grabbed up all the blankets and pillows from the control room and walked to my bedroom.

I flicked the lights on and dropped everything in my doorway. I sat down on the bed.

_The mystery man came back. But everything was wrong. He had never met the girl. So they had to start from scratch. The girl couldn't stop thinking about this man, even as she flew away from him. _

_She knew his name. And she learned more about his family. He was alone in the world. But he filled the void in his heart with travel. The girl couldn't help but be smitten by this man. He was gentle this time and he almost kissed her. When she pulled away, he respected her. She flew away, though, without learning more. _

_But she knew he was going to find her._

The Doctor came in a while later. Actually, he danced in with a goofy grin on his face. I smiled and laughed at his expression as he threw himself on my chair.

"How was your date?" I asked, curling my legs under my body and leaning forward, eager to hear about it.

"You know me and River, we just went on a date. We saw you and Dorian at the midway. Not too fond of heights are you?" The Doctor smiled at me. I blushed. "It was good the two of you got out of there when you did. Turns out, the ticket selling man snapped and programmed all the robots to attack the patrons. Of course River and I fixed it." He smiled all too proud of himself.

"Well, that sounds like an exciting date." I smiled at him.

"That wasn't even half of the date." He smiled, but ran a hand through his hair, getting uncomfortable. "Anyways, how was your date?" I shook my head.

"Doctor, I didn't go on a date. He didn't even know who I was, remember?" The Doctor leaned forward in his chair.

"Of course he didn't know who you were. He had never met you before. You didn't kiss him, did you?" His face scrunched up, right around his nose. "I mean, it's all well and good that he finally met you, but please tell me you took it slowly." I rolled my eyes and walked out of my room. The Doctor followed me as I walked into the TARDIS console room.

"You should teach me how to fly her." I touched a few of the buttons lightly, so that I didn't actually push them. My notebook was still in my hand as I traced my fingers along the controls, gently caressing the buttons and levers. "I mean I've spent so much time in the TARDIS already. Shouldn't I know how to fly her, at least a little bit?" The Doctor looked at me for a second before smiling.

"You've got a flower in your hair." The Doctor's hand reached up to pluck the daisy from behind my ear.

"Yes, I do." I smiled and grabbed the flower, placing it between the pages of my notebook hoping it would dry out and flatten so I could make it a bookmark. I put my notebook on my chair and walked up to stand next to the Doctor. "So how do you fly this thing?"

"How about I just tell you what to push, pull, and smack?" I smiled and did what he told me to do. I couldn't stop smiling as I did it because I felt so useful and the Doctor made me dance with him as I did it. Eventually I spoke up, answering the Doctor's previous question.

"I didn't kiss Dorian, by the way. Just his cheek, so it doesn't count." The Doctor stuck his tongue out in disgust. I smiled at the Doctor and rolled my eyes. I didn't want to mention that Dorian would find us again eventually. The Doctor probably already knew. After all, Dorian was looking for me, his kiss, and his four credits.


	10. Drink Me

The Doctor and I had been together in the TARDIS for a long time. We kept traveling around to different places, each one as new and brilliant and exciting. It felt great to travel and to know I was always safe. At this point our adventures numbered at around 28 or maybe more. I had a hard time keeping up with every twist and turn our escapades took.

We were exploring a city on an alien planet that looked like they did in the science fiction movies. Everything was silver and high tech. I felt like I couldn't touch anything for fear of an electric ray shooting from a wall to zap someone walking by. It was a pretty cool city, but I didn't know exactly what we were doing there.

"Doctor, what are we going to do?" I grabbed his arm as we walked through the city. I grabbed my mustache necklace, absent mindedly playing with it, as the Doctor led me to a bar.

"Well, right now we're going here because I'm thirsty and I need to see someone about something." He smiled down at me and opened a door in front of us.

Loud music sounded from the walls and I had to adjust my eyes to the lighting. It was bright and dark at the same time. It hurt my eyes and I didn't know what to do about it. The Doctor made me sit in a booth off in the corner of the bar. He backed up a step when I scooted over so he could sit next to me.

"Now don't drink anything." He shook his finger at me as if I was a child. Of course, I didn't want to point out that he was the most childish 1100 year old I had ever met. I smiled and shook my head and he walked away to speak with some large blue man sitting in another, back room of the bar. I wasn't going to pretend like I wasn't confused, but I just let the Doctor do what he needed to do.

I didn't have my notebook, so I couldn't write anything in my stories. I was stuck, sitting at a table while the Doctor did his business. He didn't even tell me what his business was; just that he had to do it. Apparently, I wasn't allowed to be a part of the whole process of negotiation or whatever they were doing.

"Hello, little miss, would you like a drink?" A waiter walked up and smiled at me with his sharp pointy teeth, purple skin, and tentacle arms. In response, I smiled politely and declined, stating that I was waiting for a friend that would be coming back any second. He shrugged and walked away. I kept sitting there, minding my own business and alien watching. I noticed a man who actually looked human at the bar, he was the only human looking thing here, and it seemed he noticed me as well. I pulled on my leggings, getting a bit nervous. He was pretty handsome, and he stood up, still looking at me. I could only guess he was going to come over and talk to me. Though someone else got to me first and blocked him from my line of sight.

"Hey little lady, how about you try this?" A glass was placed before me as a blobby alien looked down at me. He was menacing and I was sure he meant business because it looked as though he was scowling.

"Um, I'm sorry; I'm not supposed to drink anything, thanks." I pushed the glass away from me and tried to see if I could look beyond this alien and see the Doctor. I had no such luck. But the alien seemed to get angrier and more insistent when I refused.

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to drink this." He grabbed the cup from the table and placed it back before me. From inside his blobby-ness, he pulled out something that looked like a ray gun, or at least it looked like a weapon. I grabbed the drink from in front of me hesitantly. "Drink it all down."

"What will it do to me?" I looked down at the green fizzing liquid as a creepy smile formed on the alien's face. I didn't like his expression and I felt my stomach plummet to the bottom of my gut.

"Well, little lady, you'll just have to find out." He lifted my hand so that the cup was right in front of my lips. He kept his ray gun pointed at me as I reluctantly took a sip of the liquid. I was surprised to find that it didn't taste like anything. Looking back up at the alien, who just looks annoyed, I downed the rest of the drink in one gulp. "There you go, enjoy your ride, but stay put." The Blob chuckled and he slid away. He grabbed the glass and I was once again left alone in an alien bar without the Doctor by my side.

My vision started to go hazy as I sat at the table. I didn't know what was happening, or what I had just ingested, but I knew I had to find the Doctor to figure out what was going on.

I stood, looking around to find my way to the back room. But I couldn't locate the room the Doctor had disappeared into. It seemed as though there were no doors at all in the bar. My feet walked towards the direction I knew the door was supposed to be, but I couldn't find the opening in the wall.

Turning back to the rest of the bar, I had to blink a few times. There was no one around; drinking, smoking, or socializing. Not a soul was breathing or stirring. I was all alone.

"Please tell me this is not happening. Haven't I been through enough?" I grabbed my face and sunk to the floor, my back against the wall. "No, no, no, no, tell me I'm not alone."

"Of course you're not. Come here, Rachel Foster." The Doctor stood before me, his arms out as if he was waiting for me to jump up and hug him. I looked up at him, so very thankful he was here before me.

"Doctor," My voice cracked and there were tears in my eyes. I didn't want to be so emotional, but for some reason, I was. I stood and took a step forward that should have landed me in the Doctor's arms; instead he backed away a step. "Doctor what's going on?" I took another step forward, but he took two back. My next three steps forward, the Doctor turned and dashed away.

I followed after him, finding myself in the open air. My lungs filled with icy wind as I begged him to wait for me. The people that I ran past looked at me as though I was crazy, but I dodged them, determined not to lose sight of the Doctor. Eventually, we came to an alley way, the alley way where the TARDIS was parked.

"Doctor?" I stepped forward. He stood in front of the TARDIS, hand on the door. I took a few more steps to be closer. "Are we leaving now? Is your business done with?"

"You know, Rachel, I only take the best. And that's not you anymore." With a look of determination and a coldness I could feel in my bones, he entered the TARDIS and slammed the door. I ran to the TARDIS, jiggling the handle and trying to find my way inside, but the door was locked. "Doctor, please let me in." The engines sounded and I backed away, completely shocked that the Doctor was flying away from me with no explanation.

The TARDIS disappeared and I walked away from the alley way. Tears cascaded down my cheeks. I was in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people and aliens and no way to get home.

"Miss, are you alright?" I turned in the direction of the voice and was shocked at what stood before me. My feet backed away before I could utter a sound. The person standing before me took a step in my direction.

"W-William?" There he was before me, and I couldn't believe my eyes. I knew he was dead. There wasn't a way he could be alive. The Doctor had taken me to his gravestone and I had seen the date he died. "No," The word tore itself from my throat as I ran as fast as I could away from the impersonator of a man I had once loved.

My feet slowed a distance away as I looked at my surroundings. I couldn't make out a word of the gibberish that was posted as signs and street names. I stopped on a corner and tried to find some way that I could figure out where I was. I just needed to get back to the bar. Maybe the waiter would be able to help me. He had seemed nice enough.

"Miss?" A hand came down on my shoulder. I jumped and turned towards the familiar voice. A smile broke across my face and I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips. My hand came up and wiped away the snot and tears. Words couldn't describe my feelings at the moment I saw his face.

"Dorian?" Just like the Doctor, he backed away a step. "The Doctor's left me. Can you take me home?" I stepped forward and he took another step back. I noticed it was what a lot of people were doing with me today. That realization, however, didn't stop my next step forward.

"Look, I think you need to lay down, Rachel. Perhaps the Doctor just doesn't want you anymore." And with that, I blinked and Dorian vanished into thin air. I looked around for him, but there was no one. I was alone again.

Down the road, a street lamp started to flicker. The bulb went out and there was blackness. The next street lamp closer to me flickered and went out just the same. Fear seized my chest.

"Weeping Angels? Vashta Nerada? What else causes lights to flicker?" I looked down at my feet. They weren't moving, though I was trying to run. My feet were stuck to the ground, as if with a sticky glue. "Come on, come on," I chanted over and over again, trying to get my legs and feet to run. The lights kept flickering and going out, but I couldn't move.

Looking up at the light above my head, I prayed that it would stay on just so I could figure out what was wrong with my legs. But just as I wished the light to stay on, it started to flicker like the rest.

My lips let out a sigh of exhaustion and surrender. My knees slammed against the pavement as I fell to the floor, not even wanting to continue running or even trying. I leaned my head against the light pole beside me, completely defeated. I closed my eyes, and waited for the sun to come up.

"Excuse me." I felt the hand connect with my shoulder, but I didn't want to acknowledge it. I was too tired. The Doctor had left me, Dorian had vanished, and I was all alone. "You might want to get up now." The voice was friendly, but sounded almost mechanical and monotone. I looked up and in shock, fell flat on my bottom. "Please, don't be frightened. I'm only here to help." I took in the full appearance of the creature and couldn't believe my eyes.

The alien's skin was a gray-ivory shade that seemed rough and course and its head peaked in the center. Its eyes were like slits and from the place where its mouth should have been, tentacles cascaded out. They looked slimy and as though they would be sticky to touch. In his hand was a plastic orb that lit up when he talked. It was connected by a thick white wire to the mass of tentacles and he was wearing a blue jumpsuit with the omega symbol on the left side. Black boots adorned its feet and it wore black gloves.

"What are you?" My voice didn't hold the disgust or fear that I had initially felt upon seeing the creature. Instead, it was full of curiosity.

"I was designated Ood Omega, and I am here to help." It blinked its eyes and held out its free hand. I took it and the ood helped me stand. I found that I could walk and move my legs. The lights were flickering back on and there were people walking all around.

"Ood Omega?" The ood turned and nodded down at me. I looked up and around at all the people. None of them were even looking at us. It was like we didn't exist at all. "What's happening?"

"Someone was trying to sell you to a collector as a pet or organ farming." I nodded, letting it sink in. "I'm taking you back to your friend." My friend? But the Doctor had left me. "You are drugged and hallucinating now. I won't be here when you wake up. But I can at least help you as far as I can."

"What do you mean I'm drugged?" We were walking through the city. Transport vehicles zoomed past us and I started to remember where I was, but everything looked the same. The ood didn't answer my question. Instead, he just kept walking with me. I decided to ask another question. I liked the noise of his voice, the feeling I wasn't alone, and what he was saying helped me calm down. "Why are you called Ood Omega? Isn't Omega the last of the Greek alphabet?"

"It was the name assigned to me." He kept walking, getting faster in his stride. I walked faster to keep up, but it wasn't easy. My legs felt a bit weaker, though the fast pace seemed to start help the strength and feeling return.

"Well, don't you ever want a different name?" I caught a hold of his arm, finding it easier to keep up with him that way. "I mean, do you have a name that wasn't assigned to you?" He stopped walking and I stopped next to him.

"No, I have no other name and need no other name." I smiled as a thought popped into my head.

"Can I have a name for you?" It was impossible to tell if he was smiling or even approved of the idea. "I mean one that isn't as formal as Ood Omega? I don't like the stiffness to it." I smiled at him, my most charming smile.

"Alright." He placed the orb back to the part of his shirt where it attached, right under the omega sign. We started walking again and I smiled to myself. I was quite proud that I would have a special name for an ood. Though I didn't know if it was a common practice. This was the first ood I had met and I didn't really know anything about the race of species or even if they were friendly, but he wasn't harming me in any way thus far.

I noticed over the horizon, a faint pink glow started to show over the tops of the buildings. It seemed as though the night was over and the sun was starting to rise. I stopped Ood Omega for a minute and watched the sun rise with him. It had been such a long time since I had just paused.

With the Doctor, it was a brilliant life. Everything was fast paced and nothing was ever boring. But things like sunsets and rainbows and fields of flowers were glossed over and forgotten. I never complained, but with all the time I spent with the Doctor running, I forgot how something simple like a sunset could be so remarkable.

_Sometimes, the girl couldn't remember what happened the day before or couldn't figure out where she was. But most of the time, the girl discovered something. Just the little things that came and went. She learned not to take drinks from strangers, to listen to the Doctor, to sometimes trust the people she met, to sometimes not trust anyone, to sometimes just stop and look at the sunset. _

_It didn't feel real for her, sometimes. Running around with the Doctor in the TARDIS through time and space. Sometimes it felt like a dream or a fake reality. But the comfort of the senses, the touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight of it all convinced her that these things were real. _

_And that was why she remembered what she learned. _

"So, Oodmund, where are we going now?" Bathed in the rising sun, I smiled. The ood looked at me and even with the tentacles on his face and limited expression; I could begin to see what he was thinking. "I thought Oodmund might be the special name I have for you." The ood nodded and took the transmitter ball from his shirt.

"Oodmund is a very interesting name." He replaced the communication ball to his shirt and we kept walking. I couldn't keep the smile off my face, suddenly incredibly happy. Though I still didn't know where we were going.

As we rounded a corner, so that the sun wasn't in front of us, my vision started to blur a bit. My knees became weak and it was as though I couldn't support my weight anymore. I stopped walking and looked around where we were.

"Oodmund, what's happening?" I tried to grab his arm, but I couldn't find it. Instead, I fell over to a wall that I could slide down. "I feel so strange. Oodmund?" But I couldn't see him and he didn't answer me.

"I told you, you were drugged, Rachel. The hallucinations are just starting to wear off. I must go." I tried once more to reach out towards the ood, but I couldn't find him. My hands searched before me, but I couldn't grasp anything solid.

"Wait," I called out, hoping he would answer me. "What about me? Where are you going? What's going to happen to me?"

"You'll be fine. I'll be seeing you again. Goodbye." And just like that, I knew he was gone; his presence had faded. I slumped against the wall I was leaning against and sighed. My vision was more blurred, but I could see a figure walking up to me.

"Please don't take my organs." I tried to tell my vision to stop being blurry, but I couldn't make my vision clearer. All I could see was the rough outline of a man with brown hair. I smiled, but dared not to hope. "Doctor? I thought you had left me."

And with that said, I felt myself being pulled down into an abyss of unconsciousness. It was thick and black and I couldn't wake up, even if I wanted to. It was as if a blanket had been wrapped around me and I had been placed in a coffin. I couldn't move and felt a heavy weight on me. There was a rocking back and forth of my body that I didn't understand. The thought that I might have been considered dead and taken to be buried crossed my mind. Being buried alive was a great fear of mine, but I could do nothing to stop it, even if that was the case. There was also a thought that I was being taken to a place where I could be sold as a collectible or as an organ donor. These thoughts were flickers, considering I didn't want to dwell on them when I couldn't do anything about it.

Eventually, the weight on my skin started to lift and I felt as though in a few hours or minutes I would be able to move my limbs again. Voices echoed into my unconsciousness. I tried to listen with what little control I had over my body and my senses.

"There you go. A package delivered courtesy of Captain Jack Harkness."The word package puzzled me. Was I really to be sold off for parts or something? My eyes still wouldn't open, but I kept listening. "She just had something to drink. There won't be any damage done. I made sure to check. She reminds me a bit of-"

There was a muffled mumbling that I couldn't make out. The person talked quieter or was further away. No matter what I did, I couldn't hear what they said.

"Well, either way, aren't you glad to have her? I mean, she's all in one piece, though at first she did freak out and run everywhere." I felt a hand on my face. "Her temperature is down to normal, so that means the effects of the drink are definitely wearing off."

There was another muffled, mumbled reply that I couldn't make out.

"She must have been so scared at the pace she was running. I wonder if this thing happens to her often. She seems tough, though." There was some more muffled conversation and I just ignored it. I didn't want to hear anymore. I was probably being sold to some collector. I just relaxed and waited to feel my body again.

The first feeling I got was in my fingers. They started to tingle and I knew that they were waking up. Then I could feel my toes and up my legs and arms. Eventually I had feeling in my whole body, except for my head. My face had the tingling for the longest amount of time. I didn't know if that was how it was supposed to go or if it was a sign of something that went wrong. My eyes wouldn't open and anxiety started to fill my head.

There was pressure on the bed I was resting on. Someone sat next to me. My head started to feel lighter, as if it was filled with air. As soon as I knew that my head was resting on a pillow, I slowly found myself able to open my eyes.

I was in my room in the TARDIS. I was laying in my bed in my room in the TARDIS. The Doctor was sitting next to me on my bed in my room in the TARDIS. But he was sitting cross legged and looking at his watch, obviously not realizing I had woken up. A slow, groggy smile graced my lips.

"Well, I know you get impatient, but really, Doctor?" The Doctor turned to me as I sat up in the bed and pulled my legs up to my chest. The Doctor seemed awkward, like he didn't know what to say, sort of like a young child trying to thank their grandparents for a wonderful Christmas gift.

"Well, you did take an awfully long time to wake up." He smiled over at me. Before he could move to get off my bed, I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest. He hugged me back, tighter than I thought possible. I pulled back and blinked away the tears that threatened to fall from my eyes.

"This has got to stop happening to me. I mean, I get kidnapped and experimented on and bugged and drugged and quite frankly I'm getting tired of it. I am so much better than being some lab rat." A smile broke across my face. "I'm just going to have to be more like River. It's your turn to be the damsel in distress, Doctor." He smiled as I flopped back onto my mattress.

"Yes, well, you should have listened to me and not ingested anything." He pointed a finger at me. I raised an eyebrow and he retracted his finger.

"I was sort of held at gunpoint. And since when have I not listened to you?" The Doctor didn't really know what to say. I most always listened to what he said, I kept close or I sat down or I didn't go out 'there'. He reminded me constantly how nice it was.

"Yes, well, I'm the Doctor; I wouldn't look as nice as a damsel in distress; never really liked dresses." I laughed and followed him out as he walked to the control room. It was time to leave and start another adventure.


	11. Deicide

_The Greeks had their many gods, from Apollo to Zeus; the Romans had the gods as well, just renamed. There's Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and so many other religions the girl couldn't count them with two hands. Most of them have a god, or many gods, or a central figure that helps and bestow guidance. They have a goal, a reason for living, to serve or emulate their god or to find a certain way to live. _

_Religion had always fascinated the girl. So many people believing one key concept, but still, there were millions of interpretations. And some religions sprang from one central one, but they believed such different things. The girl didn't have one to call her own; she never had. She just believed in one thing._

_The man who stole her away in his big blue police telephone box. _

"Rachel, I know you said no more forests, but how about a jungle?" The Doctor turned to me and smiled. I rolled my eyes. But the Doctor looked so hopeful.

"Well, I guess that is a different type of tree and animal population." I smiled over at him. He looked so excited I had to laugh. "Just let me go change." I hopped off my chair and made my way to my room. I took off my sleep clothes and pulled my sweater over my head. My jeans slid over my skin as I stepped into my shoes and buckled them. Taking my ring and bracelet, I walked out of my room to see the Doctor standing with goggles in his hands. They looked like the ones he used to fix the underside of the TARDIS controls.

"You'll need to wear these." He held them out to me. I grabbed one of the pairs and put them on my head. "Come on; let me see how you look." He smiled as I pulled them over my eyes. Everything seemed to be tinted green. The Doctor let out a laugh.

"Do I look like a dork?" I turned to try and find a mirror so I could make sure my hair looked alright with the goggles on.

"You look fine." I turned back to the Doctor. He had just put his goggles on. "Now let's go." He held out his hand and we ventured outside.

The air was hot and humid; like someone had covered everything with a warm wet blanket. The Doctor and I looked at the vines and the foliage before us. It was almost like a complete wall of green.

"After you," I gestured for the Doctor to go first. He looked back at me with a grimace of disgust and uncertainty. I sighed and rolled my eyes as he took two steps forward towards the trees, then came back to stand next to me.

"Maybe we should go together." He crossed his arms and tried to play himself off as cool. I took the initiative to walk into the jungle first. There was the hissing of a distant snake, the cawing of tropical birds, and a ton of other sounds associated with a tropical jungle. "This reminds me a little too much of the Rainforest Café." I turned around to look at the Doctor. I had to wait for him to stumble into my line of sight. He was following me at a decent pace, but he was also tripping and stumbling over every bump, twig, and root on the ground. "I think I'm getting better at this whole walking thing while you're getting worse." I smiled at the Doctor. He came to stand in front of me and huffed.

"I know I'm clever and more experienced with this stuff, but you try walking through this with the wrong colored lenses in your goggles." He stuck out his tongue and fell to lean on a close by tree, but completely missed and landed on his back on the floor. I tried not to laugh. Instead, I squatted down in front of him and smiled.

"Close your eyes, Doctor." I reached out grabbing the Doctor's goggles and closed my eyes and ripped off my eye gear. I put mine on his face and secured them. Before I could put his on my face, the Doctor spoke.

"Rachel, what are you doing?" I lost my balance for a second. My arms reached out and grabbed the nearest thing to keep my balance. "Hurry and put your goggles back on." The Doctor seemed a bit stressed. If I could, I would have rolled my eyes.

I didn't have time before the Doctor grabbed my hand and we were running. I tried to catch my breath as we stopped.

"Doctor what were we running from?" My hands clutched my knees as I bent over trying to breathe. As my knees connected to my hands I realized, I had dropped my goggles as we were running. "Doctor, what would happen if I dropped my goggles as we were running?" There was crunching on the ground. Of course I hadn't opened my eyes yet. I figured my eyeballs would melt if I did.

"Well you'll most likely go blind." I could hear him starting to get angry. He didn't like being so out of control of a situation. He liked things to go the way he liked them to go. And I could hear his concern in his voice.

"Right well we'll just have to go back to the TARDIS and get me another pair." I smiled though I didn't know if it was directed at the Doctor or not. I took a step forward and felt the Doctor pulling me back.

"Not that way. The giant snake is that way."

"Well which should I go then?" I waited for the Doctor to respond but heard nothing. "Doctor?" I waited again for his response. I walked forward in the direction he had pulled me. "This isn't funny Doctor." My foot nudged something on the floor. I slowly sank to my knees to feel out in front of me. I picked up the object with a sigh of relief. They were goggles. I leaned back on my knees and put the goggles on.  
Opening my eyes I saw the jungle before me. But there was no Doctor. Or at least, I didn't think he was there. These goggles gave a weird brown tint to everything and there was nothing to contrast, except a few shadows.

"Doctor?" I took a stumbling step forward. Nothing answered my call. "Are you freaking kidding me? What the hell?" I kicked at the ground. The Time Lord had vanished when I needed him. Of all the things he could have done. I was about to scream at the sky when a piece of white caught my attention. It was pinned to a tree with a knife. Pulling out the knife I took the paper and read it.

"If you want your friend back alive follow the snake trail. Perhaps we can make an arrangement."

I sighed and tilted my head to the sky. At least I could see and had goggles now, however crappy they were. I still had to figure out a way to get the Doctor back. And I was doing no good just standing around waiting for him to magically appear in front of me. I looked at the ground and realized I was standing in the snake trail that would take me to the Doctor.

Figuring everything would be easy enough I started to walk, trying not to trip.

The trail was long and I walked for what probably constituted as a few hours. By the time I got the wall of jungle plants and the end of the trail I really had no idea where I was.

I reached out to touch the wall before me and pulled away a few leaves to see what was happening beyond where the trail ended. There was a clearing on the other side where a little band village was set up. It looked like a tribe of some sort but I didn't see anyone around.

The Doctor was tied against a lone tree in the middle of the clearing. He didn't see me but he looked all in one piece.

That was when I felt the jab at my back. My body froze as I turned slowly.  
Behind me were maybe ten tribal people. Women wearing furs and had large animal skulls, most likely replicas, over their faces. All of them were pointing their spears at me.

They spoke to each other. I couldn't really understand their hushed whispers. But before I knew what was happening, I was taken into the clearing. I could see around the small village as I was taken to its heart where the Doctor stood. I noticed a few males of the tribe around cooking and caring for children.

The women stopped and surrounded me, spears pointed at my neck. There was no way I could move, unless I wanted a beautiful necklace of my own blood.

"Don't hurt her." I looked at the Doctor. He looked a concerned for me but I knew there was something else that he was thinking about. But one of the women walked over to him and jabbed him in the ribs with the blunt end of her spear.

"Silence." I looked at the woman who had spoken. "Or you feed Juju."

"Who is Juju?" It might have been my imagination, but I thought that the spears lowered a bit and the women holding them were more relaxed.

"Juju is snake and great protector of our god, Vergil." She gestured to a large golden statue with inlaid jewels and the giant snake that was coiled before it. I took a wild guess and assumed that was Juju, the snake that had taken the Doctor.

"So is that your god?" I gestured to the statue. Everyone in the village laughed. I nervously chuckled along with them.

"No that is his idol. Have you not seen a god before? Vergil comes to command us and will come soon." The woman spoke and I just sort of stood in my place though the women had lowered their weapons. Apparently they knew I wouldn't run without the Doctor.

There was the rustling of some bushes behind the statue. My attention focused on the rustling and a man emerged from the greenery. Each and every member of the village immediately was down on the ground. But to me the man they called a god was just that, a man.

"And who are you then?" I crossed my arms. The man stepped forward, patting the snake on the head as he passed. On top of his head, the man had a full head of prematurely grey hair. He was wearing exploring clothes, like the ones you see in movies. And he was wearing goggles just like me and the Doctor. The man chuckled and walked to sit on a large throne I hadn't noticed at the side of the statue.

"My name's Vergil Tuppington the III." He sank into the chair and watched me for my reaction. I didn't really have one and he looked slightly perturbed by that. I rolled my eyes and went to stand in front of him. The members of the tribe were still on the ground. Foreheads, firmly pressed to the dirt.

"So you're the god then." I put my weight on my left foot and examined the man before me. I didn't see how he could be a god. Then I looked back at the statue made of gold and jewels. He did look like it in a way; in an old fashioned disproportionate tribal way. But if you squinted your eyes and tilted your head to the side you could see it.

"Rachel, don't engage him in conversation." The Doctor was turned towards me. I looked back at him and we had a small conversation through facial expressions. Eventually the facial argument ended with me winning. The Doctor looked exasperated. "Really, you don't want to engage with him."

"I'm Vergil." The man smiled as if he was friendly when he obviously wasn't. And I noticed his glance towards the Doctor. "And I am their god." I rolled my eyes.

"So what do you want with me and my friend?" I walked closer to the man on the throne. He crossed his arms and examined me as if I was a specimen on a Petri dish. I suppressed a visible cringe.

"Well your friend will most likely be eaten by Juju, my snake. Isn't it brilliant? You, my glorious, will be my queen and we shall rule this world through space and time." He leered at me and I had to work at keeping the contents of my stomach from making a revolting appearance. Though I did scoff and back up a step.

"Be your queen? Really? Why would I do that?" My arms crossed furiously across my chest. His queen? Who did he think I was?

"You're a beautiful lady. And I need a queen, so consent and all will be well." He gestured with his hand and Juju uncoiled and slithered closer to the Doctor. I looked over and walked back a bit to stand between the snake and the Doctor.

"Well you haven't really made my whole consenting to be your queen worthwhile." Really, I was just trying to protect the Doctor from the threat of Juju. "You're not going to coerce me like this. If you want me to be your queen, why not try acting like a gentleman?" I was glaring at Vergil and the snake. Trying to keep an eye on both, but not wanting to let my guard down on either front.

"Well," Vergil stroked his chin. "I guess your boyfriend doesn't have to die." I stifled the laugh that bubbled in my throat.

"Sorry to burst your bubble Vergil but my friend is married to someone else. We're just traveling together. He's one of my best friends." I smiled over at Vergil, feeling victorious in a way. He seemed perplexed by what I said but didn't argue. "So you can let him go now." One of the women stood and cut the Doctor's binding, but held him there. I watched as Vergil thought. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about this situation.

"Well if he is just a friend, you won't need him." Vergil clapped his hands. The other people surrounding us dispersed and the woman holding the Doctor dragged him away with three others as escorts. I watched as the Doctor struggled to stay with me in his sight. But he had no luck. Vergil started to walk away and I was alone with the giant snake. "Are you coming?" Vergil called to me as he walked back through the wall of plants. I looked once more in the direction of the Doctor before following after the man.

I tore through the plant life after Vergil, ready to give him a piece of my mind. But I stopped as I stumbled into his space ship. That was the only thing I could think to call it; a proper looking spaceship. Vergil walked down a gangplank type walkway and motioned for me to join him. I tentatively thought about what he wanted and shuddered before walking after him.

"Welcome to heaven," Vergil chuckled to himself. I rolled my eyes and looked at every button and every compartment in the ship.

"What do you get from it? Being a god and all?" I let my fingers linger on a big red button. I turned away as he laughed.

"I get power and glory and I feed my ego. What's better than that?"

"Didn't you think of going to convince other people about your godliness in a less rural place?" I turned back to him and leaned on his dash.

"I did, but then I crashed here and I haven't left." He smiled at me the smile of a television phony that is pretending to perform miracles so he can take your money. "Before you ask why I didn't leave, I can give you that answer. The food is brilliant; comes from the richest soil in all the galaxies." Vergil walked over to me and grabbed my arm placing his other around my waist. "Here, let's get you something to eat." He led me over to a long table and forcefully sat me down.

"Sorry, but I'm not hungry. I think I want to see my friend now." I stood up and tried to walk out of the ship and back through the wall of the plants. However, Vergil made a point of blocking my path. I noticed the look in his eyes. It was as if he were a wolf, and I a helpless lamb.

He stalked towards me. I backed further away with each step he took towards me. I could see in his eyes where he wanted this to head. I almost stumbled into the table and my chair as I backed away from Vergil, but I felt the chair and pushed it before me to block his path. That didn't put him off, though, as he kept advancing on me. I turned my head only a slight to see anything lying on the ground. In that instant, I was thrust against the table. Vergil leered over me, arms on either side of my frame.

"I can just tell. We're going to get along swimmingly." He started to slowly lean down; most likely intent on kissing me. I, though, was going to have none of that. I took a deep breath and on the exhale, I thrust my knee up with all the force I could muster. I knew I hit the right spot when he let out a very loud moan of pain. Vergil reeled back, clutching his crotch. I didn't want to smile, because it looked painful, but I couldn't help myself.

I stood, brushing any food from my back and walked out the door and back to the village. As soon as I walked through, I saw the villagers all lined up. Like they were just waiting for me to emerge.

As soon as I started walking towards them, every person fell to the floor. Unmoving, I looked around and tried to figure out what happened. The snake was behind me. I heard the crunching of feet coming from the wall of plants.

"I am their god. They think we just consummated a bond, making you their goddess." I shuddered at the meaning of his words. "They're worshipping you." Vergil wobbled out, still uncertain on his feet. I guessed I gave him one hell of a kick. He stumbled up to me and placed his hand around my waist. Immediately I tried to step away. He wouldn't let me. I didn't like him touching me and I thanked River for the self defense lessons. I grabbed his hand, smiled, and flipped him on his back. He did not move from that position and I didn't even know if he was still conscious.

"Don't you dare touch me again." I looked down at him and walked down the steps and through the crowd. I stood before the woman who had taken the Doctor away and looked down. "Where is my friend?" The woman stood and quickly walked me to a cage behind one of the houses. The Doctor was crouched in one of the corners, trying to sonic the branches.

"Stupid branch. Stupid wood. Stupid sonic screwdriver." The Doctor kept hitting the bars, trying to break them. I cleared my throat and the Doctor whipped around, a huge smile on his face. "Rachel Foster, there you are." I smiled down at him and had the woman open the cage.

"Gosh, Doctor, where have you been?" I held out my hand for him to take. He grabbed it and stood, almost hitting his head on the top of the cage. "Let's get going."

We walked back to the village center. The snake was waiting for us. Vergil was out cold on the platform and the idol that sort of looked like him had fallen over to the ground.

"Rachel, what did you do?" The Doctor smiled over at me and I looked over at the snake. Its head bowed and I looked as some of the men tied Vergil up to a stick.

"I don't know." I separated myself from the Doctor and walked up to the men tying Vergil up. "What are you doing?" The men dropped what they were doing and fell to the floor. I sighed and massaged my temples.

"It is time to sacrifice god to the volcano. His purpose is over, mother." They stayed on the floor, even when I told them to stand up after they answered my question. I wasn't going to do anything about it. Vergil tried to sexually assault me, but then I looked to the Doctor.

"No, there will be no sacrifice. The bond was not-" I paused, hating the word at the tip of my tongue. "Consummated. Vergil hasn't achieved his purpose." The men looked at me and then at my stomach. I'm sure I looked disheveled enough, but they untied Vergil the same.

"Then you must go and complete the task." A woman warrior, the one who had taken me to the Doctor, approached. She held her spear, pointed directly at my chest. The Doctor strode up beside me. Clutching my hand, I knew what we were going to do.

"Oh," I smiled. "ok. I see what you want me to do here. I only have one word to respond." The Doctor and I started to back up. No one followed us. They just stood, as if they didn't think we would run. "No." And we started to run. The snake immediately started to come after us.

So we ran away as fast as possible. I told the Doctor to take the snake's trail back to the TARDIS. We found our way back to the big blue police telephone box and the snake hadn't caught up with us. We jumped inside and the Doctor ran up to the controls to start us flying away.

"Well," I walked up behind the Doctor and sat on my chair. "That certainly was interesting. But let's hope it never happens again." The Doctor smiled and turned towards me. "It was sort of weird to be a god, though. I didn't really like it. I don't understand how Vergil put up with it."

"Well, I guess you just don't have the ego to feed." The Doctor crossed his arms as I backed up and sat back down on my chair. "You're too good for it."

"No, I'm not. I'm not good enough." A small sad smile graced my lips as I looked down at my jeans and ripped off the goggles from my head. I felt the Doctor's eyes on me as I played with the goggle strap. Feeling the familiar wave of inadequacy wash over me.

"I don't believe that for a second, Rachel. Out of everyone in the universe, you've traveled through time and space with me." I could hear the pride in the Doctor's voice. "You were born with two hearts, you can say Irish wishwash-Irishwhishs-Irish wrist watch, you're a princess on an alien planet, you've battled a dragon, you've been a god. I think that counts as a reason you're better than good enough." The Doctor kept staring at me. I looked up at him and met his eyes. "Of every person in the TARDIS, there is something unique and wonderful about them; which means there's something unique and wonderful about you. You've just have to believe in yourself like I believe in you." He smiled at me and I knew that for a second, every person he had ever traveled with flashed through his memory.

"I'm sorry, about everything, and about everyone who has left you." I looked up at the Doctor. "I just want you to know that I'm never-" The Doctor put up his hand, motioning for me to stop talking.

"Don't finish that sentence." He put his hand down and I walked up to give the Doctor a hug. "Everyone who says that, they get taken from me." I felt the tear hit my shoulder.

"Don't worry about that then. We'll be great, just you and me." I pulled away and smiled. "Where to next?" The Doctor shrugged and we both turned to the console. There were so many options. So many places we hadn't been yet.

The Doctor glanced at me from the corner of his eye. I could tell he was trying to look when I wouldn't notice, but I caught his reflection in the glass of the console. And he looked worried for me. I smiled and turned towards him. He was working on flying us somewhere fantastic.

"Doctor, do you believe in a god? Like some great higher being that is omniscient and omnipotent, that controls the lives of everyone everywhere?" I looked away from the Doctor as I waited for his answer. It took minutes that I could hear ticking by for the Doctor to say anything.

"I don't know." The Doctor turned back to the controls and the TARDIS started jerking and flying. I looked down at my shoes and let my hair fall over my shoulders.

"I mean I don't know if I've ever really believed in a god. So, I guess I don't know either." I smiled at the Doctor and did something I never thought I would do; I silently prayed.


	12. Disease

Sometimes, there were clues that you could perceive from those around you. Once you know someone so well, they leave little markers or there are little twitches in their face that they hope you miss.

Like the Doctor. He thought I missed it. Every time he looked over at me, his smiled dropped before I turned to look back at him. He could feel what I felt: that something bad was going to happen. That maybe I wouldn't be in the TARDIS much longer. The inkling came from every crevice of the TARDIS; I think she was trying to tell me. And I really wanted to cry and deny that I was going to go away, but I wasn't going to take any of it sitting down. I was going to leave the TARDIS on my terms. And my terms alone.

"Titan, then?" I leaned on the console and looked at the Doctor across from me. "Isn't that like a moon or something?" The Doctor smacked some buttons and yanked a lever.

"Saturn's moon, to be exact." The Doctor smiled over at me. "They turned it into a theme park, well sort of. The gravity was already off, but they tweaked it a bit." I looked confused, so the Doctor continued. "You can fly around on it." I nodded and we seemed to land on Titan, or wherever we were, if we made it to Titan at all. "Let's go fly." The Doctor took me by the arm and we ventured outside.

Looking out, the surface was rocky and brownish red. It really looked like we were on Mars, or any other uninhabited planet. There were no real distinguishing factors from any other rocky surface. Until I tried to walk.

The first step out of the TARDIS was like trying to walk in a bouncy castle. My balance failed me, but it seemed as though I couldn't fall. My feet made their way forward until I was standing a small distance away from the TARDIS. The Doctor stayed at the TARDIS, watching me. I turned back towards him after scanning the horizon.

"I can fly?" I called back, ready to take off. When I noticed the slight nod of the Doctor, I smiled. "Tell me how." I thought I caught a glimpse of the Doctor's smile in return.

"Would you accept faith, trust, and pixie dust as an answer?" There was laughter in his voice as he spoke. He was enjoying this. "Just jump." He demonstrated and flew over to me. "It's pretty simple; just got to get a handle on it." I looked down at the ground, wondering whether I should jump up. I could fall or crash. A billion different things could happen and not all of them could be good.

But I jumped up, prepared to plummet back to the ground. I didn't. Instead I floated, though I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do after. The slightest move made me tip upside down. The Doctor helped me right myself, but I didn't know how to move, so I just stopped. I floated in the air, waiting for something to happen. The Doctor smiled and flew around behind me, shoving me forward. I struggled to get a balance in the air. As soon as I got the hang of it, figured out what I had to do to fly, I had fun with it. The Doctor and I flew all around the moon. There were some really great views that almost took my breath away.

"This is really beautiful, isn't it Doctor?" I smiled over at him as we hovered over the rocks of a great cliff. We were overlooking a valley. Of course it was brownish red and much of it was the same color, but it still was breathtaking. "Have you ever been here before?"

"Once, when I was a young boy." The Doctor looked over the horizon lost in thought. I didn't think that he wanted to be dwelling on things like that. He wanted to be cheerful and I thought he deserved that.

"Oh, so you were here last week." I smiled and flew away as fast as I could as he tried to chase after me. We flew around, him still giving chase. We were laughing and having fun. It was a change of pace. "It's almost as if nothing could go wrong." I was pretending to back stroke through the atmosphere.

"Don't you know, Rachel, you're never supposed to say things like that." The Doctor was laughing, though. "Either way, we should head back to the TARDIS now. It's getting late."

I nodded and we started to fly towards the TARDIS. I flew backwards most of the way. I was having too much fun gliding around going backwards, but watching the Doctor to make sure I didn't run into anything. However, I didn't catch the Doctor stopping and I backed full force into a hard metal wall.

It wasn't really a wall. As I turned, I found it to be like a great robot. It towered over me while I was midair, but its feet were firmly planted on the ground. I looked at the Doctor who was sizing them up and hovering just before their faces.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is Rachel Foster, we were just here having a bit of fun. What are you doing here?" I smiled at the robot in front of us and felt a tickle in my throat. I tried to clear it, but I didn't want to get in the way of the Doctor figuring out what was wrong.

"What is your purpose here?" The robot's voice was monotone and male, just like most robots I had met. The Doctor turned to me as I kept trying to clear my throat. I waved him off and he kept on in his inquiry with the robot.

"Like I said, we needed a bit of fun. But I asked first, why are you here?" The Doctor flew around the robot full circle. The only part of the robot that turned was his head, following the Doctor.

"This moon is contaminated with pneumonoplastitus bronchus 13Z." I could instantly see the Doctor's smile drop. He turned to me as I let out a full-blown cough, trying to get the tickle out of my throat.

"Sorry, Doctor, it's just a tickle. I just need some water." I smiled as the Doctor flew over to me and cupped my face in his hand. "What's wrong?" I was starting to worry. What was pneumonoplastitus bronchus 13Z that the robot was talking about?

"I'm so sorry Rachel, but you're going to need a lot more than water." He looked at me like he was so worried and enraged. It made my bones weak with fear. The Doctor turned back to the robot. "This should be MARKED!" Hearing the Doctor shout shocked me. He was really angry.

The Doctor grabbed my hand and he flew us quickly back to the TARDIS. I still had no idea what was going on, but the tickle in my throat was getting worse. The Doctor and I entered the TARDIS and landed on our feet. Immediately I went to find a glass of water. It didn't help with the tickle in my throat.

When I got back to the console room, the Doctor wasn't doing anything, except seemingly waiting for me. He was sitting in my chair, my notebook in his lap, flipping through the pages and stroking each one as it passed.

"Doctor, is something wrong?" I sat next to him. The Doctor seemed to snap out of whatever he was thinking and closed my notebook.

"Pneumonoplastitus bronchus 13Z." The Doctor sighed and grabbed one of my hands. I smiled over at him, ignoring the growing discomfort emanating from my throat.

"Yeah, what is that anyway?" I stood and took the Doctor's usual spot leaning against the console.

"It's a fatal lung disease that affects your breathing and, eventually, you die. There's no known cure. It was a cause for a wipe-out of humans in the 63rd century. There's nothing I can do." The Doctor looked up at me. I could tell he was trying to stay calm and not cry; I was too.

"I'm assuming I have it." I looked over at the Doctor who nodded in confirmation. "Um, why don't you?" The Doctor looked up at me, a deep sadness in his eyes.

"Because I'm a Time Lord with two hearts and we have immunity from pneumonoplastitus bronchus 13Z." The Doctor placed his head in his hands. "I'm so sorry." I felt as a single tear leaked from my eye and trailed its way down my cheek.

"There's no cure and no one in the world that could help us?" I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed. But the Doctor bolted up from the chair, shaking his head. I could see the determination in his eyes.

"We're going somewhere to visit some friends of mine and I'm hoping they can help." The Doctor started to dance frantically around the console of the TARDIS. I could tell this wasn't a real plan and there was no real hope that going to see this friend would help. But this was the Doctor's last-ditch, all-chips-in effort and he was clinging to a hope that maybe I could get through this. And I was right next to him, hoping the same thing.

"Where are we going Doctor?" I looked over at the Doctor, wiping away the tears in my eyes. The Doctor didn't stop or slow down as he replied to me.

"We're going to see the ood."

He rushed around the TARDIS console and I sat down in my chair. I couldn't believe what he had just told me. I was going to die from an alien disease and there was nothing I could do about it. But I knew the Doctor. There was always something he could do.

My coughing became more incessant as it took longer for the Doctor to fly the TARDIS. We landed and he took a deep breath, waiting for me to join him by the door. I had to take a moment, as my head started to get dizzy and my legs started to feel as though an elephant had sat on them and I was just walking after the pachyderm got up. I wasn't steady and the Doctor knew it as he placed his arm around my waist and helped me walk. I hated that I needed his help, but I could tell that if he let me go, I would fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

It was incredibly cold outside, snow blew like a storm and waiting for us, I saw distinctly three ood. Only one of the three was like Oodmund with a translator ball. The other two looked the same, though they wore different clothes and instead of a translator ball, they held tiny brains in their hands. I didn't think much about it and realized that what seemed like years ago, before I met the Doctor, something like that would have made me faint on the spot.

As we approached closer, two more ood came out from what seemed like the snow and held their hands out to me. They both had the communication balls and the Doctor's grip became tighter on my waist. That was when I noticed the omega sign on one of the two ood's chest.

"Oodmund," I stepped forward, away from the Doctor to embrace the ood before me that I knew as Oodmund. The ood nodded and caught me as my legs stopped working beneath me.

"Rachel-" The Doctor's voice caught in his throat and I knew that he wanted to say something, but I also knew that he couldn't. I felt Oodmund take a few steps backwards, away from the Doctor.

"See you later, Doctor." I smiled as my body leaned against that of my ood friend. Oodmund and the other ood started to walk me towards a beautiful structure that looked like a cathedral or a gothic palace. They led me inside where I was taken to a room.

One ood was sitting before a fire, his head shaped as though molded by a brain, instead of having it peak in the center. His eyes were closed until I was set on the other side of the fire, across from him. Its eyes snapped open and he looked at me.

"So, she has arrived." The ood hadn't spoken aloud; he didn't have a translator ball. "Your mind, child, is where my voice resonates." The ood's head tilted back. "I believe it is time."

He didn't really speak to me again, just seemed to dismiss the other ood, except Oodmund; he stayed by my side. And I was grateful because I wouldn't have been able to cope with the news I was given after without a familiar presence.

"The Doctor has left you." My obvious shock did not stop the ood who seemed to be some sort of high ranking individual. "We will care for you. There is nothing we can do for your condition, save prolong the time you have left in this world. The Doctor, though, must travel through the stars throughout time to find the things we need before it is too late for you." My body was wracked by a coughing fit as the ood finished speaking. There was nothing I could do to quell it. "If it is not too late already." The rest of the coughs stuck in my throat.

I looked to Oodmund for some form of comfort, but all he did was keep his gaze on the ood across the fire from us. The ood elder stood and walked towards us around the fire. He placed his hand on my head and walked out the door.

Oodmund took me further into the room to try and get me to lie down on a bed. I didn't want to lie down, I wanted to find the Doctor; I wanted to help him and not be sick anymore. This illness scared me.

"You must lay down, Rachel; your health depends on it." Oodmund eased me down on the bed. I would not lie still, and immediately sat back up. Oodmund again attempted to get me to be still.

"Where's the Doctor?" I looked frantically about as another cough stuck in my throat. Oodmund held my hand and reassured me that the Doctor would be right there to comfort me. I drifted in and out of sleep, not really sure if what I saw each time I woke up was reality or not.

What seemed like hours passed and I felt my body grow hotter and hotter. The elder ood came to check on me a couple times and each time I asked if the Doctor had come. Each time I got the same shake of the head; the Doctor was gone.  
Eventually I drifted off to sleep and could no longer open my eyes. In a blind consciousness, I felt the sweat clinging to my brow. Someone took a cloth and wiped it away as they stroked my hair; a much more familiar and affectionate gestured than what I would expect from Oodmund. I couldn't move and I couldn't open my eyes to see who was taking care of me. I figured it wasn't the Doctor because the next moment I heard him.

"Where is she? Let me see her, I have what she needs," the Doctor shouted. I could only imagine him pushing past oods as he rushed into the room. "I got what you wanted, now help her." There was no patience in his voice, just a tone of urgent need.  
Somewhere in the room there was shuffling and I heard a chant start up. It grew closer and I felt my body being lifted into a sitting position. Sticky fingers dabbed my eyelids and nostrils. The odor was disgusting and I could feel the bile rising in my throat. I didn't get the chance to vomit, however, because the sticky liquid was forced into my mouth and down my esophagus. My body, still not under my control, was lowered back to lying down.

"Now we must wait. Doctor, you must be prepared for if you were too late." It was the elder ood. I heard the Doctor start to speak, but he was cut off by another speaker.

"That's not good enough. Do something else. You said you could help her." I knew the voice belonged to Dorian. He was upset by the tone of his voice. I wished I could open my eyes to see him and I wished I could smile.

"We have done all we can." I felt hands touch my face; a very clinical touch. "Though she seems to be receiving the medicine well, the illness may still resurface in the future." I heard a fist slam into the wall and felt the vibrations from where I lie. There was a scuffling sound and mumbled whispers in a far corner. I couldn't discern what was being said, or even who was in the whispering group. But I could feel the hand in mine.

"Come on Rachel, pull through this. It's the least you could do. I've searched the stars for you." I could almost hear tease on Dorian's lips as he spoke, but he was too serious, too upset.

I felt slime in my stomach, as if the medicine had come to life. It seemed to move and soak and spread through my body. Oh, how I wanted to vomit the stuff up. The sensation was not a pleasant one. As soon as the medicine soaked through my body, I felt as though my fever, the fire's temperature grew tenfold.

"We have to get going." It was the Doctor. "There's one more thing we have to do before she's alright." I assumed the Doctor had spoken to the ood about what would happen next. I felt myself being lifted and carried. Then I was laid down again and I distinctly heard the sounds of the TARDIS engines. Eventually, I started to feel my temperature going down. I no longer felt as though my body was on fire. My eyes opened and I smiled. As I regained control of the rest of my body, I got up and weakly walked out of my room. Both the Doctor and Dorian were standing around the console as the Doctor flew the TARDIS. They were talking in hushed tones and as soon as they noticed I was awake and in the room, they stopped talking.

"Hey, thanks for getting what the ood needed to help me, I'm feeling better now. I'll be fine, right?" There was still a faint hope in my mind that slipped away as I spoke. I sat down in my regular seat and watched as the Doctor smiled and Dorian played with his vortex manipulator. I sighed, exhausted and defeated. "It's ok. I know that I might relapse. I won't be contagious though, right?" I looked at the Doctor. His smile had fallen from his face.

"No, you're not contagious, but your body can't take too much strain." He kept on flying the TARDIS, avoiding all eye contact with me.

"So what? No more running for me? Cause that's fantastic I hated the running the most." I smiled over at the Doctor but still his eyes refused to look in my direction. "Dorian, you coming with us?" I was happy with his response of a smile and a nod. Though he wouldn't speak, I was happy of his acknowledgement. A cough wracked my body and the two before me seemed to cringe. I couldn't contain the anger that rose up in my gut. It was anger, not really at them, but at my circumstances. And it boiled over. "God damn it!" I exploded. I took my notebook, ever on its place in my chair, and chucked it across the console room. Both men looked away from me. The engines of the TARDIS stopped and I stood. Trying to calm my rage. "Where are we?" The Doctor walked up to me, a sad smile on his face.

"We're home, Rachel." The Doctor took my hands and led me towards the door. Dorian was already there, waiting to push the door open for us. Dorian ventured out first as my feet stuck in their spot in the door frame.

"That's impossible." I gripped the doorway of the TARDIS as I looked out at Hyde Park and the statue of Peter Pan shrouded in night. I understood immediately. "My home is the TARDIS, Doctor. You can't make me leave." I turned to look at him. "Please." Tears filled my eyes as he pulled me into the tightest hug I had ever felt.

"You were one of the best, Rachel Foster." I clung tighter to the Doctor as he pulled away. "But now it's time to say goodbye, for your own good."

"No, don't say goodbye. Cause you're gonna visit me, right?" I looked up at the Doctor and wiped away my tears. I understood what he was saying, but a part of me would never accept it.

"Of course." His voice broke over the words and I could tell he wasn't sure he'd be back. He leaned in to kiss my head. "I'll be back and I'll never forget you." I turned back toward London waiting just outside the TARDIS.

"I don't know what I'll do without you." I refused to turn around again. To look back in the TARDIS and see the life I had with the Doctor might have killed me on the spot. I never wanted to leave the TARDIS. The part of me that would never accept leaving the TARDIS took control. A part that didn't care about my health, a part that just wanted to stay and be happy traveling with the Doctor. And I knew there was only one choice for me, on my terms, and I made my resolve. "No, I'm not leaving. You're like my best friend and brother at the same time." I took a step back. "No, I'm not leaving." I felt the Doctor place his hand around my shoulders. It was comforting for a moment.

"Always so stubborn in your convictions. That's what I love about you. Along with countless other things, of course." I smiled, but still couldn't bring myself to turn around. Deep down I knew that I couldn't and the Doctor's arm wouldn't allow for it. "Which makes this so hard." His arm tensed around me. "I'm so sorry." I heard his voice crack as he pushed and I stumbled forward into the park.

Immediately I turned back towards the TARDIS as the door slammed and locked. The engines sounded out, echoing in the empty park. I pounded on the door, calling for the Doctor to let me in. Though the TARDIS disappeared all the same. As soon as the last traces of the police box vanished, I slumped to the ground, sobs wracking my body. I felt Dorian standing behind me, unsure of whether to comfort me or stand back. I stood and pulled myself into his arms, crying for hours, forgotten in the park.

_One day, the girl got sick. In order to save her life, the Doctor left the girl alone, back where he had found her. She didn't want to leave, but the Doctor made her. He wouldn't risk her life, no matter how it pained him. _

_She knew that the Doctor would be alone, and that was the last thing the girl wanted for her friend. The girl had the man who had chased her across time, but the Doctor only had his magnificent TARDIS. The Doctor left her, though, and flew off to continue his adventures. She didn't know if it was the last time she would see him, she hoped not._

_But she had to begin a new adventure just the same. _


	13. Dyspnea

It was strange, but so much could happen in three years. You could get married, have your book published, have a baby, move to a new place, find your dream job, eat countless amounts of ice cream; the possibilities were endless. It had been three years since the Doctor had left me; three birthdays. I felt old and I couldn't even bring myself to read my notebook of adventures, it lay forgotten in the back of my closet. Instead, I read other books and wrote when I could think of ideas. Though, deadlines were never my strong suit.

Really, the only book I read was one entitled "The Rose Garden" by Susanna Kearsley. It was worn and starting to fall apart. I had bought it years ago; the year I was graduating college. It helped me keep together. It was beautifully written and reminded me each time I read it why I wanted to be an author. It was just a bonus that it dealt vaguely with time travel.

After the Doctor left me, it seemed as if my world fell apart. I didn't know what to do with myself, but a year later, I had a job and everything seemed to be going alright; my illness hadn't even resurfaced. Still, every time I got a cold or let out a cough, Dorian looked at me and waited until I took another breath before breathing himself. Today, though, it was my birthday and it was a beautiful day. The afternoon of my birthday, actually, and I had just finished with a meeting and was sitting at home, reading the same book and waiting for Dorian so we could go out and celebrate my getting older.

When a knock sounded on the door, I looked over at it confused. Dorian had a key, he would just come in, and I wasn't expecting anyone else. My family was on a cruise to Alaska, they wouldn't be here. But the knock sounded again. Figuring it was a package or something like it, I got up to open the door. As the door opened, my eyes widened in shock and every word in my vocabulary vanished from my mind.

"Happy Birthday, Rachel Foster." The Doctor stood before me, arms outstretched, waiting for me to hug him. But my muscles were still paralyzed in shock. The Doctor put his arms down at his sides and looked at the floor. "Uh, how many years has it been?" Still, I could not reply to him. "Right, well, I should just be going then." I finally found some words stuck in my throat.

"You want a cup of tea?" I looked at the Doctor, my knuckles white and clinging to the door. "After all, three years is a while to catch up on." The Doctor looked up at me and I smiled a small smile at him. He entered and I closed the door behind him. He waited and I led him to the kitchen.

"You got a different flat since I last saw you, this one is bigger." The Doctor sat down at the table in the kitchen area, watching as I put the kettle on to heat up the water. I turned towards him and leaned on my counter, facing in his direction.

"A lot has changed since you last saw me." I smiled and started to play with the sleeve of my blazer. Standing here and talking with the Doctor wasn't supposed to be awkward, but it was. So I just awkwardly smiled and continued talking with him.

"Your style hasn't." The Doctor looked me up and down. Though I'm sure his eyes landed on my neck. "Nice bowtie." I smiled at him and absentmindedly played with it. He smiled over at me. "You look quite nice today."

"Yeah, well I was waiting for Dorian to get here to celebrate my birthday." I looked over at the pot, waiting for the water to boil. The Doctor's smile widened.

"Ah, so Dorian stayed with you then." The Doctor tried to catch my eye, but I tried to avoid it. I didn't know how the Doctor would take the news.

"Uh, we're married, actually." I looked over at him, trying to gage his reaction. When I met his eye, he looked incredibly happy. And I was confused for a second.

"So you're actually Rachel Foster now." The Doctor's smile brightened as I nodded my head in affirmation. "I told you, you would find him." I chuckled.

"You could have warned me, though," I replied. Hearing the shrieking of the kettle, I took the pot off and poured two cups, placing a tea packet in each. "I hope this is alright. It's all I have. But its Dorian's favorite." I smiled and set the cup in front of the Doctor. He didn't touch it. "But, uh, Dorian and I have been married a year and a half, almost. It'll actually be half in December." The Doctor just looked at me. He didn't say anything, just stared as I sipped at my tea. I couldn't take the silence, so I started to speak once more. "We were actually thinking of moving. I mean the flat is so small. But I can't seem to fathom the idea of moving away from the park."

"Where we first met," The Doctor's smile emanated the impression of nostalgia we both felt. I nodded and smiled over at the Doctor. He still hadn't touched his cup of tea. "So, you both want a bigger place." I nodded again. "You want enough space for the children I'm sure you want." The Doctor smiled, like he really knew what he was talking about. I tore my gaze from his.

"No," I gripped my cup tightly in my hands. The cup was hot and I could feel the burning sensation as the heat of the cup transferring to my hands. But the temperature of the cup distracted me so I wouldn't let the tears fall. As I had, so many times before. "Uh, we had a pregnancy scare a while back and I got tested." The Doctor realized what I was going to say. "I can't have kids. I naturally don't work right." I wiped furiously at my eyes where tears had formed despite my adamant conviction not to cry. "We've talked about adoption, maybe later in life." I looked down at the liquid in the cup, trying not to see the look of sympathy on the Doctor's face. "Can we talk about something else?" The Doctor cleared his throat and in a muffled tone, searched for something else to say.

"How's your writing going?" The Doctor continued to stare at me. It was a bit unnerving, but I didn't want to read into his gaze. But he knew something that he wasn't telling me. I answered anyways.

"I'm being published." I smiled over at him, trying to lift my mood. It was actually a topic I was elated about. "I'm all set and ready to go. I just have to wait for the release date; it's sometime in October." My smile grew a bit brighter. "I mean, I've been published before; one or two short stories in different collections, a few hint fictions here and there. But this is my first real novel. It's all prepared for release; title, cover art, editing and all." The Doctor's look of concern made me pause. "It probably won't sell well. It is my first, but I have high hopes." I smiled over at the window. "You knew me as famous when we first met. I imagine something good will fall out of this. I mean, if not the first novel, maybe the next."

Before the Doctor could answer, I heard the familiar sound of keys in the door. I smiled and stood. Dorian walked into the kitchen, setting his keys down on the counter and walking over to me. His embrace was warm and familiar; his kisses welcome and fervent. Dorian hadn't realized, however, that we had company. I pulled away, leaning into him, and smiled.

"We got a visitor today." I gestured to the Doctor. Dorian nodded to him, but said nothing more. The Doctor was looking away. Looking into Dorian's eyes, I could tell he wasn't exactly pleased to see the Doctor sitting in our kitchen drinking tea. I stood awkwardly; I didn't know how to react. My husband had a problem with one of my best friends. But Dorian knew exactly how to react; he attacked the Doctor for his actions.

"You left her without so much as a backwards glance, she was devastated. You couldn't have been kinder?" Dorian's steely gaze and accusations hit the Doctor hard. I could tell that the Doctor felt horrid about what happened, but Dorian wasn't going to let him off the hook. "She secluded herself to her room for months after you left. She would barely come out. I knew what you planned to do, but I can't believe you didn't stay awhile or even visit before now." I nudged Dorian in the ribs, hoping it would prompt him to shut up. Dorian shut up, but his eyes were still steely, glaring at the Doctor.

"That's the past. I'm happy he came to visit." I grabbed my purse and Dorian's hand. The Doctor stood up. "Now, today is my birthday. And we three are going out to celebrate and everyone is going to be happy because I am sure as hell ecstatic that I am still alive to see this day." I looked at both of them. They were still staring at each other, but eventually, Dorian nodded and wrapped his arm tighter around my waist. The Doctor tried to smile.

We walked out of the flat and I locked the door behind us. I didn't know where we were heading. There was still some light in the sky, so we decided to walk through the park to get wherever we were going. The Doctor just followed along as Dorian kept his arm firmly around my waist. Though I could see Dorian's attitude becoming softer.

"How have your lives been, other than getting married and all that?" The Doctor walked beside me as we traveled through the park.

"Well, I'm working as in a museum, curetting and planning. It's nice work and it pays decent enough." Dorian looked over at the Doctor and down at me. "I assume you know Rachel is being published." I smiled over at the Doctor.

"But I'm also a secretary at a publishing company; a different one than the one that's publishing me." I chuckled a little. "There was a bit of an upset at the office when I told them the news, but they don't exactly publish the type of stories I write." The Doctor looked like he would question what I meant, but I continued before he could ask aloud. "They publish children's stories. And my novel is young adult, for teens."

We were near the Peter Pan statue when I felt I needed to sit down. It was always the statue. It was where I met the Doctor and where he left me; where I spent so many hours after work wondering if he would come back. I found the park bench I always went to and sat down. Dorian sat next to me while the Doctor continued to stand. There was concern on his face, but I knew it was nothing to be worried about.

"This always happens, you know, now." I tried to explain, but the concern stayed plastered on the Doctor's face. "It's just a little after effect of being so sick." I smiled over at the Doctor. "Really, I feel better than ever, and I haven't relapsed and it's been three years. Really, no need to worry, I'm just a bit tired." I smiled and grabbed Dorian's hands to play with his fingers.

But I knew the Doctor would be worried about my well-being. He had the right to be. I would love to be blasé and nonchalant about the whole thing, but every day at work I was scared I would just collapse and no one would know what happened to me. Or walking through the park and no one would know why I died. Either scenario could happen. And I knew there would be nothing to prevent it.

I closed my eyes and lay my head on Dorian's shoulder, enjoying the cool breeze and trying to regain my breath. Dorian and the Doctor started talking about what the Doctor had been up to and how Dorian was doing at work. I listened to them talking as I relaxed.

"I've been around, you know me, never in one place too long." The Doctor sounded gloomy, like he sometimes did when he spoke about being alone. "But I get by just fine." I opened my eyes to look at him.

"You have to promise me, you won't keep that way. I mean, you love having friends and company around you." I smiled as Dorian's thumb stroked the back of my hand. "Being lonely is worse than dying. Trust me." I looked over to the statue of Peter Pan.

But I wasn't expecting what I saw.

There, standing right in front of the statue, was Oodmund. He just stood there, not moving, but staring at me. For a moment I couldn't breathe. But the next, Oodmund reached for his communicator ball to speak to me. Everything seemed to melt away. Dorian was still stroking my hand and the Doctor was still standing in front of me. I guessed no one else could see the alien in front of the statue. But I paid attention to the ood standing a distance away as he started to speak.

"It is time, Rachel." The words that resonated in my head confused me. I didn't want to hear them.

"But it can't be." I replied audibly. I didn't know if Oodmund could hear me, but I said it anyway. "I've been so great. Getting better, not as tired." The Doctor looked back and forth from me to the direction I was looking. He was just as confused as I was, but about a different problem.

"Rachel, who are you talking to?" The Doctor knelt down in front of me and grabbed my hands from Dorian.

"I'm sorry, Rachel. There is nothing to be done. Be happy that you shall be with those who you care about and those that care about you." Oodmund replaced his communicator ball to his shirt and walked away; his form disappearing into the scenery. I kept looking for him; for some explanation more about what was happening. I felt the sobs pulling at my throat as the tears began to pool in my eyes. My hands ripped from the Doctor's grasp and went to wipe the tears from my eyes.

"I love you, Dorian." I leaned up to kiss him, as he looked down at me. Taking a deep breath, I spoke again. "But I've been told it's my time." As soon as the words escaped my lips, Dorian's arms encased me in their warmth. The Doctor took out his screwdriver and it buzzed as he tried to figure out what was wrong with me. I didn't even know what the matter with me was, but he gave me an answer a minute later.

"Your lungs aren't getting enough air to your brain. Each breath you take gives you less and less air. If you can't get the air you need, soon, you'll-" He didn't finish his thought. I could see the gears frantically turning in his mind. "We're going to see the ood again. They can postpone it more and you can keep on and be happy." The Doctor was about to rush away, but I stuck out a hand to grasp his as he almost stood up.

"I doubt the ood can do anything at this point." I smiled down at him. "I knew this day would come sometime, but I'm just happy you both are here so that I don't have to be alone." I snuggled into Dorian as the Doctor played with my fingers.

"I don't want you to go. We just started our lives together." Dorian whispered into my hair and kissed my forehead. "You can pull through this. I know you can do anything you set your mind to." My tears stained his shirt as I sat there. He made this so hard because I knew there was nothing to be done.

"I'm so sorry. You can leave if you must." I let go of the Doctor's hand and placed my hands in my lap. "I just wish you would stay until this is over."

I waited to watch the Doctor walk away. I knew Dorian would stay with me, but I knew this was hard for the Doctor. It was probably more difficult than watching someone just leave the TARDIS because he knew that in a small way, he caused this. I cursed whoever was listening in whatever afterlife existed that I would have to die from some alien illness.

In a moment, I contemplated what would happen when I finally did stop breathing. I guess I would finally know what afterlife really existed, what churches got it right, if any of them did. But as the Doctor once again grabbed my hand, I smiled a little smile at him and waited for the air I was taking in to stop being enough. It didn't come as fast as I thought it would.

"I'm sorry, Rachel." The Doctor had tears in his eyes. I knew he wouldn't cry in front of me. I knew he might bottle it up for ages until, all in one stressful moment, he let it rip out of him in a rage storm of fury. Or he might wallow away in a heart-wrenching depression, sinking lower and lower into an abyss until he could no longer go on. I shook my head. I didn't want either scenario to happen. He should just let it out or forget about me entirely. But I didn't want that to happen either. "This is entirely my fault. I'm so sorry." I shook my head again.

"Don't be, it happened and there's nothing you can do about it now," I sighed as the Doctor lifted his head, a sad excuse for an idea popping into his mind. I continued, "Unless you want to do something like rip a hole in the space time continuum." The Doctor's head drooped. He knew I was right. "Just let it be." My eyes started to close, but I wasn't ready just then. I forced myself to stay awake; to keep bringing air into my lungs, to keep myself alive.

I sighed. The sun was dropping behind the horizon as we sat at the park bench. The air blew a little colder as the silence kept suffocating the words I wanted to say. I knew that I couldn't keep this up in the silence.

"Someone want to tell me a story?" I smiled as Dorian pulled me closer. He smiled into my hair as he kissed it and started with a story.

"Once upon a time, there was a man. He was known by many names, but most knew him as the Doctor." Dorian looked over at the Doctor, still kneeling in front of me. I smiled over at Dorian as he continued. "He ran. He ran far and fast. He ran even when nothing was chasing him. He ran to things and from things. And once upon a time, there was a girl. She wasn't significant or special, but this Doctor thought she was. She didn't have anywhere to go. When the Doctor found her, she ran. Oh, how fast she ran. She followed the Doctor to nowhere in particular because he asked her to go."

"And oh, the adventures they had." The Doctor finished smiling up at me. "And that's just the beginning of it." I smiled.

"That's my story." I chuckled. "Isn't that plagiarism?" A tired feeling washed over me. I knew that was a signal that I truly wasn't getting enough air in my lungs to feed my brain anymore. I looked over at the Doctor. "You won't forget me, will you?" A tear fell from my eye.

"You? Never." The Doctor smiled up at me, but I noticed the way his cheeks glistened because he was crying too. He didn't show it, but he had let some of his tears fall.

"Good." I squeezed his hand in mine and turned to Dorian. "How are you going to be?"

"I don't know," Dorian's eyes held so much grief; I couldn't help the sob that escaped my lips. "I don't think I can do this without you." My hand reached up and found its way to stroke his face. He had let a beard start to grow, his cheeks becoming scruffy with the stubble. He was also growing out his hair as well; the ends just barely brushing his collar. "I'm so happy I met you." A thought crossed my mind as I looked into Dorian's eyes. I hesitantly turned away from him.

"Doctor, why am I so famous? You knew of me before we even met. You called me The Rachel Foster. Why?" The Doctor looked up at me as I asked my question.

"Because everyone who read your book wanted more, but you weren't around to write anything else." The Doctor looked away from me. "And now I know it was completely my fault." I sighed, agitated.

"Stop it, Doctor; it isn't your fault, now just stop." A cough heaved my body forward. But Dorian still held me. The Doctor had no protests for me after that. Dorian leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"Please, don't leave me." His words blew a warm breath on my ear. I turned to kiss him. My body tried to meld with his; tried to make us one person.

"I don't want to, but I happen to know something." I leaned in to whisper in his ear as he had with me. "There is a girl in the forests of Camelot waiting to meet you and be unexpectedly swept off her feet."

I kissed Dorian's cheek and kept warm in his arms as I continued to become more and more tired. We sat in silence; all waiting to see when I would close my eyes for the last time and never open them again.

Eventually, I could no longer fight the exhaustion and closed my eyes, feeling as though I would wake up after a short nap. I turned to Dorian and grabbed the Doctor's hand.

"I'm just going to rest my eyes for a moment. I'll wake up again in a few minutes, ok?" I looked into Dorian's eyes. There were tears in them, but he smiled for me. Both of them, even I, knew that this was it. But I closed my eyes and drifted off into the abyss, never to wake again.


	14. Decisions

There were a lot of things that changed my life. Realizing my love of writing stories, meeting my best friends, branching out as an adult. I didn't even have to stray far from home to find myself. But that was a problem. I was scared to leave home. I could barely go to the places where I was most unfamiliar.

Then one day changed my life forever.

"You really should read more," My friend, Emily, was berating me. "I mean you read, but you haven't talked about that 'one great book' you read, recently. You need to find another great book. You need to be inspired again."

We were having lunch in the university union, waiting for her next class to start. I knew what she was talking about; I was losing an uphill battle with my creativity. I was slumping. There was no more inspiration for me to grasp. Usually, I would read a great book and that would spark my imagination, but I didn't have much time for reading these days.

"I mean, you're graduating in a semester. And you haven't even begun to send out some of your finished short stories to publishers. Really, Rachel, sometimes I wonder what you're doing." She sipped her coffee and I grabbed a cold French-fry, popping it into my mouth. I picked up another fry.

"You're right," I tossed the half eaten French-fry and grabbed my bag. Stuffing in my wallet, I stood and started walking away. "I'm going to a bookstore." Emily called after me, but I hardly heard her shouting.

I unlocked my car and ducked in, quickly turning the ignition and putting it into reverse. My car backed up and I drove away from the campus. The nearest bookstore was a Barnes and Noble. Not my favorite bookstore, but it would have to do. At least it was nearby and not halfway across the state. Though, it was still pretty far away. I had to drive a little more than fifteen minutes to get there.

Pulling into the parking spot, I grabbed my wallet and got out of my car. There weren't many people around, but then again, I didn't expect there to be.

There was a chance that the store was closed, but I highly doubted it would be. I mean, it shouldn't have been. Plus I just needed one book to read, that wouldn't take too long to find. Actually, that was a lie. I knew that it probably would take forever; unless I had some sort of head start. But I didn't know what sort of book I was looking for. Another reason I needed a mainstream bookstore.

I walked inside and smiled. There was just something about bookstores. My first job was at a bookstore. Of course I quit once school started getting tougher and I couldn't juggle all the responsibilities. The store was two levels, but I knew the sections I was looking for; young adult and regular literature. Those were the only two sections I ever looked at. Those were the only two sections I ever needed. Immediately, I made my way over, though I didn't really see any workers, save one or two scattered around the store.

There was a man in the regular literature section. Awkwardly, I stepped around him and started looking at the book with the author's last names beginning with A. While I stood there, looking at titles and completely judging books by their covers, I noticed the man glance in my direction a couple times. Eventually, I got to the books with the author's name beginning with K.

Out of all the books, one stood out. It was called "The Rose Garden" and the cover artwork was beautiful. I was instantly drawn to the book. As I reached out to grab it, another hand reached at the same time, picking up the book before I could get my hands on it. Of course, it was the only other person in the aisle; the strange man.

"I'm sorry," I retracted my hand and kept looking at the other books. But the man placed his hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, you take it." He smiled at me, looking quite sad. He held out the book to me and I took it. "There's only one copy, but you should have it." He was handsome, but a bit older than I was, possibly in his mid-30s. Though his accent had me swooning and his eyes were beautiful. "I was just picking up another copy for my wife, hers is worn down, but she's in no great hurry to get it." He smiled and I felt a blush on my cheeks.

"Well, thank you, but-" I smiled over at him and noticed him walking away. I looked at the book grasped in my hands. "Wait," I held it out towards him. "Really, you can have it. I can always find another book." I smiled at him, but for one moment the man seemed incredibly depressed.

"What's your name?" The man turned towards me. I pulled my arm back towards me.

"Rachel Clover." I brought the book closer to my chest, wondering why he asked me that question. For a moment, the man turned his face away towards the ground. The look of pain and sheer misery on his face made my bones weak. "Are you alright?" The man looked back at me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But I'm Dorian Foster." He smiled a little at me. I once again stretched my hand forward to offer the book, but he grasped my hand and pushed it back towards my chest. "There's no replacing this book." He turned and walked away. "Goodbye Rachel Clover." The man disappeared at the end of the aisle, only looking back once at me as I stood. Scanning over the books once more, I looked at the covers, picking up none of them to read. Eventually, I stopped looking at others and examined the book in my hand.

I stood there, holding the book, flipping through the pages and running my hands over the cover. Wondering what was so special about it, I walked down the aisle, intent on finding a chair to sit so I could read the first couple chapters. As I turned left from the aisle, I ran headfirst into someone. The book dropped from my hand and the person dropped their books as well.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." I smiled at the man, though I noticed his nametag. "You work here?" I dropped to the floor to help pick up the many books the worker was undoubtedly restocking to the shelves. "I've never seen you around before. I'm sorry that I ran into you." I grabbed every book, the person did the same. "Gosh, I feel like I'm talking a lot." I had handed the guy half of the books he had originally been carrying. I had the other half in my hands. "Why don't I help you carry these while you put them back?" The guy smiled over at me and nodded. "I'm Rachel Clover, by the way." I smiled at him.

"John," The man smiled back. "John Smith." He had a British accent and was dressed in nice pants, a nice shirt, and a bowtie.

"I like your bowtie. How long have you been working here?" We walked to one aisle, John putting books back in their rightful places.

"Only about a week, or so. I've never stayed in one place too long. This is just a short stop before moving on." He looked back at me, a sad look in his eyes. "Yes, won't be around for much longer."

"Why do you move around so much?" I looked over at him as he stacked some books back into the shelves. "If you don't mind me asking, that is." I noticed a few spaces for some of the books I was holding. I placed them back. We walked and found other shelves where the books belonged.

"People tend to get hurt if I stay around them too long." His statement confused me. "People don't expect it, but they do things they wouldn't normally, trying to help me." There was pain in his eyes. But I still didn't understand what he was talking about. He looked at me. I tried to lighten the mood.

"Well, I can tell you this. You're not gonna be hurting me. I'm indestructible." I smiled over at him as I put back some books on the shelves around us. "Though you did say you were leaving soon." He put back some books.

"Yes, very soon." The two of us put back the last of our books and I walked to the front of the store with him to buy my selection. He rang me up and I took the plastic bag with my book and dropped my wallet inside. He smiled at me. "Maybe I'll be seeing you." I looked at him over the cash register.

"Yeah, well, when's your next break?" I leaned on the counter and waited for his answer. "I mean, in a strictly friendly way." I stopped leaning on the counter as he seemed to get slightly uncomfortable. "After all, you sort of owe me." There was a look of confusion on his face. "I mean, I did just help you put back some pretty heavy books. The least you could do is buy me a coffee." John raised his hands in defeat, though still looking hesitant about the whole idea.

"What the hell, what could it hurt?" John smiled and we walked over to the café in the store. John ordered tea and I got myself some frilly coffee drink that was probably more cream and sugar than coffee.

We found a small table by the window to sit at. I dropped my bag over the chair and sat down. We sat in silence for a bit. I took a sip of my drink, cringing with the utter and overwhelming sweetness of the drink. I was definitely not used to it.

"That's the last time I get a drink like this. I mean if I get another, I'll probably end up with a cavity." I smiled over at him. "Never had a cavity in my life either. I don't even know what I would do if I got one."

"See a dentist, probably." John smiled and I let out a laugh and nodded. "I mean, that's what you're supposed to do." I took another small sip.

"Knowing me, though, I would have to see some weird dentist I had never met and he'd do something weird with my teeth." I kept smiling and chuckling, but John's face had fallen.

"I'm sure you'd be just fine." He took a long sip of tea. I looked down at the coffee before me. It was too sweet for me, even after the second sip. But I kept drinking it anyways. "Well then, tell me about yourself." I grabbed the coffee cup, holding it at the moment for warmth.

"Well, I'm in college, studying to be a creative writer." I put down the cup and leaned back in my chair. "Though, I don't know what I'm doing. I have no real career lined up for me. I'll probably end up going into a dead end job, hating my life. And I'll be stuck there forever."

"Or not," John smiled over at me. "There are a million possibilities out there for you. You could save the world." John took another sip of his tea. "You never know."

"Yeah, well, I have no direction at all. There's only one thing I've ever wanted to do with my life; only one thing and its stupid." John looked over at me as I kept my gaze out the window.

"Well, what is it you've wanted to do?" He waited for me to answer.

"I said it's stupid, I mean, I would never have to courage to actually do it." I looked down at my untouched coffee. "God, what am I doing with my life?" I put my head in my hands.

"You're on the path that you need to be on. There are many decisions that we have to meet, but you have to have faith that the choices you make lead you in the right direction no matter what." John finished his tea and kept his eye on me. I looked away from the window and nudged my cup of coffee with my knuckle.

"Fine, I've always wanted to live in England." I looked over at John, waiting for him to tell me what a silly idea it was. But he didn't speak. "Well-" I tried to prompt him, but he didn't really react as I expected.

"Well, what?" John looked over at me as if expecting me to freak out or something. "Is there something special about that? Some strange reaction you expect from people?"

"Normally people look at me funny. Like I'm some sort of loon because I want to live outside of the country." I ran my fingers through my hair. "I mean, really, I've wanted to since my family visited when I was in middle school."

"You should go." John smiled over at me.

"What?" I knocked the cup and it teetered. I caught it before it spilled, amazed at my reflexes. Though I was a little shocked at what John said. No one ever told me things like that.

"Pick up after graduation and just move to London or do whatever you want. It's your life, live it before it's gone." John looked out the window, staring at the cars parked outside in the lot.

"Is that why you move around do much? Living your life before it's gone?" John looked over at me. "Or do you just like to travel and find new places?"

"The second one, I believe." He smiled. "What's better than seeing a place with new eyes? Finding something new about somewhere you've already been? I've always wanted to travel and now that's all I do."

"You mean, except for an odd job here and there, I suppose. Even when you travel there are bills to pay." I smiled over at John. John nodded, smiling at me.

"But I wouldn't change it for the world." John looked nostalgic and I didn't want to rain on that feeling. I didn't want to bring up that he had said that everyone around him got hurt. He didn't deserve that when he seemed always conflicted by emotions, even now as we just sat and had a cup of coffee or tea. He was a strange man, so happy but so sad at the same time. There was no way I was going to try to poke my way in there. After all, he was a nice stranger that I had just met. It would take a lot more coffees to be able to open up about ourselves and be considered friends. "Rachel," John reached across the table and grasped my hands in his. "Promise me you'll move to London, follow your dream, and keep writing."

"I'll keep writing. I don't know about my dream, but moving to London? Maybe," I picked up the cold cup of coffee and took a small sip. I stood and threw away my unfinished, cold cup and went back to grab my bag. "See you around, John. If you're still here next time I need a book." I took my bag and walked away from the table.

John was still sitting there, still staring out the window. I walked out to my car, unlocking it and threw my bag inside. I looked back at the coffee shop window to see John still sitting there. After a brief wave, I ducked into my car a drove away, heading back to my home. The whole drive, my mind was jumping everywhere; from the possibility of actually moving to England to the life I would lead if I stayed here. But as I pulled into my driveway I knew my mind was made up; I just didn't know what was going to happen. And in that moment, I wished I had a time machine to see what was in store for me.


End file.
